Mediator In Tulsa
by Coca-Cola3012
Summary: COMPLETE. You don't have to have read the Mediator series to get it. Suze is a mediator who moves to Tulsa. She meets Ponyboy, and befriends him. But what happens when she is haunted with some ghosts from his past?
1. No Place Like Home

**Mediator In Tulsa**

Chapter One: No Place Like Home

Disclaimer: I do not own The Outsiders or the idea of Mediator. They belong to the brilliant authors, S.E. Hinton and Meg Cabot.

Susannah Carducci stepped off the train with her mother, brother and new stepfather. She could feel her mother's disapproving eyes on her. "Oh, Susannah, did you _have _to wear that ridiculous jacket?" her mother sighed.

Susannah Carducci, her mother, her little brother and her new stepfather were all moving to her stepfather's hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Oh, joy. Susannah, or Suze, as she preferred, had grown up in the small town Homer Glen, Illinois, perfectly normally with her parents and brother.

Then the…accident had happened, just over two years ago. Somehow her mother had managed to bounce back wonderfully and get remarried just a couple of months ago. And now, here they all were, moving into a new town and a new life.

The jacket to which her mother referred was her old, comfortable blue denim jacket. It had once belonged to her father, and if she buried her nose in it and really inhaled, she could almost smell his old familiar scent of spice and mint.

Suze rolled her dark brown eyes theatrically and wrapped the jacket more tightly around her, just to be a pain. She felt as if that jacket was the last tie she had to her father. She remembered very clearly the last time she had fought with her mother over that jacket.

She had caught her mother trying to throw out her jacket with the stuff for charity before they left for Tulsa. She hadn't spoken to her mother for three days after that. Her mother had just sighed and said, "You're more like your father than just in looks."

Suze _did_ look an awful lot like her father had. She had the same tan skin, the same skinny frame, pointed chin, large, dark brown eyes, and brown hair so dark many people mistook it for black, except in bright sunlight, when it looked almost red.

On the other hand, Charlie looked a lot like her mother, with his curly, sandy colored hair and innocent blue eyes, and round form. With her father gone and Ryan in the picture, a lot of people asked Suze, "Are you adopted?" Suze sometimes wished that she was, like now.

She heard her mother sigh again from behind her, and would've bet all the money in her back pocket that her mother was throwing up her hands in despair. She did that a lot concerning Suze these days, especially concerning what she wore.

And true, she only had three cents and a Lifesaver, but it was the principle that mattered.

Following her mother Jan, her brother Charlie and her mother's new husband, Ryan, she picked up her luggage and hailed a cab while her mother struggled with her suitcase.

_Jeez, what does she carry in there, bricks?_ Suze thought witheringly as she and the cab driver loaded the bags into the trunk.

It was lucky that Ryan's old house still had all the furniture and everything, so that they had only needed to bring their clothes and personal junk. Jan had told Suze and Charlie that they could only bring one suitcase of what they really needed.

_Hypocrite,_ Suze thought, as she watched her mother heave her three bags into the trunk.

Suze stared out the window the entire time driving to the house. They were in a dirty looking neighborhood.

The sidewalks were all cracked, there was trash all over the streets and there wasn't a single building that wasn't dilapidated with the paint peeling. Her eyes widened as they passed a group of boys in a fistfight.

Suze's heart yearned for the clean green prairies and cornfields of Homer Glen. For such a small town, it had an awful lot of farms and forest preserves.

Jan nudged her husband slightly and muttered, "Honey? Are you sure we're in the right neighborhood?" Ryan looked guilty. "Well, I'm sorry, dear; I forgot to mention that I grew up…well, more or less on the wrong side of the tracks."

Jan sat back and huffed. Suze couldn't help but smile slightly to herself. _Hah! All-perfect Ryan finally screwed up big time!_

They finally arrived. Ryan pointed out the house and the taxi screeched to a stop. After paying the driver and retrieving all their stuff, Jan, Ryan and Charlie all ran excitedly inside to unpack and begin their perfect lives, but Suze hesitated outside for a moment.

She could go back any moment. She could live with friends, or her aunt in Chicago. Chicago was only an hour or so away from Homer Glen. The taxi hadn't even rounded the corner yet. She could go back. She didn't have to do this.

Taking a deep breath, Suze made her decision. She walked up the front steps and stood in the doorway. "So," she said aloud. "This is home now."

It wasn't the same, but it would have to do. _Dorothy was right,_ Suze thought. _There really is no place like home._

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Ponyboy Curtis was staring out his window. He was thinking, about Johnny and Dally and how they didn't deserve to die.

The world outside was stationary. Pony was shaken out of his thoughts when a taxi rumbled up to the house across the street.

Four people got out: a little boy and a woman who was obviously his mother. They looked alike, with their curly hair and round figures. There was a man with red hair, and a skinny, dark skinned, dark haired girl.

Pony started at the sight of her. _Glory, she looks like Johnny if he were a girl! She's even wearing a jean jacket, just like he used to!_

The front door slammed and Two-Bit came waltzing in. He ruffled Ponyboy's hair playfully. Ponyboy glared at him. "Two-Bit! Quit messing up my hair!"

Two-Bit shrugged and flopped down on the couch, flipping on the T.V. "New people moving in, I see," Two-Bit said, flipping through the channels until he came upon Mickey Mouse.

"Oh, Mickey's on!" he said, bouncing in his seat like a kid. Ponyboy stared at him. "I didn't know you liked Mickey Mouse!" he exclaimed. Two-Bit nodded excitedly.

Ponyboy shrugged and continued to stare out the window. The girl was the last to go inside the house. _She looks so different from the others,_ Ponyboy thought curiously. _I wonder if she's adopted._

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Short, I know, but I want to know what you think before I go much further. I didn't reveal much or really start anything here, but it'll get better. I hope.

Review and tell me if I should keep going or not.


	2. I See Dead People

Chapter Two: I See Dead People

Disclaimer: Must I put one for each and every chapter? I mean, c'mon. Give me a break. It's the same as the last chapter, by the way.

Suze laced up her green high-tops and shrugged on her denim jacket, grabbing her house keys and a book. She was headed for the park.

True, she had just come back from the park an hour ago, but she hated this house. It smelled like mothballs and dried blood. She especially hated her room. For one thing, it was the smallest room in the house.

_Typical,_ she thought. _Mom and Ryan get the biggest room, Charlie gets the one with the twin beds for his dumb friends, and I get stuck with this. Fantastic._

She stood in the front hall and screamed, "Mom! I'm going out!" Jan emerged from the kitchen. "Must you yell, Suze? And you were just out!" she protested.

Suze was about to reply when she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks.

It was a thin, mousy looking boy who looked like he was about fourteen, but was probably older. He had tan skin, black hair, and large, soulful dark eyes that held a permanent look of terror.

Not to mention he was completely transparent.

_A ghost, _Suze thought. The ghost must have noticed her staring because his eyes widened and he said, in faint, echoing tones that only Suze could hear, _"You can see me!"_

Jan noticed her daughter staring off into seemingly nowhere and she threw her hands up in despair. "Oh, Suze!" she groaned. "Not again!"

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Ever since she had turned thirteen, Suze had realized she had a strange gift. She was a mediator, meaning she could see, hear, communicate with and help the dear departed souls of this earth who have returned for vengeance, because of a promise kept, to fulfill their last wishes, or just to annoy the hell out of the first mediator they found.

Lucky Suze. She had only told one person about it: her mother. No one else knew, or was likely to find out.

There were rules to being a mediator. When Suze's father had died, she had found out that the dead chose to return and could not be summoned. She could have had contact with her father, but she hadn't seen him. You can imagine how much that annoyed her.

Another rule was that, it's a mediator's job to help the departed, and only a select few are eligible. Suze didn't know how she was eligible in the least bit. She had punched her last ghostly visitor in the nose.

Suze's favorite rule was that she was allowed to exorcise ghosts, too.

Sometimes being a mediator could be fun, and fill you with a deep sense of self-satisfaction at having helped another. But not usually. Ghosts could be rude, obstinate, and very stubborn.

Still, someone had to do it. The job had to be done. Lucky Suze.

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Suze shook herself awake. "N-no. Nothing's there. I…I thought I saw something. But it was just a shadow," she lied. "I…I'm going out," she said slowly, glancing back one last time at the ghost boy.

She fumbled for the doorknob and left, slamming the door behind her. As she left, she thought she heard a faint, _"Don't leave me!"_ But she ignored it, and ran to the park.

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Johnny was amazed. Someone could see him? Wait. Where was she going? "Don't leave me!" he wailed, watching her glance back one last time before leaving.

Johnny flew, literally, through the walls and followed her to the park. She sat down on the swings and opened her book. She was reading _Gone With The Wind._ Johnny smiled slightly at the thought of the memory of Ponyboy.

He had been following Ponyboy for the last few weeks. He seemed to be fine. He had written something called _The Outsiders _for English class. Johnny had read it as he had written it, smiling over his shoulder.

But now…he was so glad he had found someone who could see and hear him. He had to talk to her. Maybe she could help him.

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A few seconds later, Dally appeared. "Hey, Johnnycakes," he said loudly, right in Johnny's ear. Johnny leapt in shock.

"Jeez, Dally, do you have to scare the hell out of me every time?" Johnny demanded angrily. Dally just grinned.

Johnny turned away huffily. He was still angry with Dallas for killing himself in the first place.

"Hey, who's the chick?" demanded Dally, referring to the mediator. "Oh," Johnny said casually. "Nobody special. Just a MEDIATOR."

Dally's eyes widened in shock. "No way!" he shouted. He and Johnny had been searching for someone to help them ever since they had died. Dally was miserable as a ghost, although it did allow him to steal things unnoticed.

He wanted to just go on, not be a ghost anymore. And a mediator, a human who could understand them, could help them go on…

"You think she's up to it?" Dally said, trying to keep his cool. Johnny turned to him, his eyes large with knowing. "Yes," he said quietly. "And anyway, she's our only hope."

Dally knew he was right. He stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and turned towards him…

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What happens? Review and you'll find out…if I don't have too much homework. I'm a freshman in HS! Today was my first day! But you don't care. So just review.


	3. Finding A Friend

Chapter Three:

Suze caught sight of Dally and groaned, whacking herself in the head with her book. "Oh, no," she said unhappily. "Not another one!" She was sick and tired of so many ghosts! She _knew_ coming to Tulsa was a bad idea.

"_Actually, he's with me,"_ said another voice. The ghost she had seen earlier stepped up beside the one already standing next to her. _"I'm Johnny Cade," _the ghost said. _"And I'm Dallas Winston. But you can call me Dally," _said the other one.

Suze cleared her throat slightly and introduced herself. "I'm Suze Carducci," she said. "What do you want?" she added, sighing unhappily.

Johnny looked confused. _"What do you mean?"_ he asked. "I MEAN, why are you bothering me?" Suze demanded. She was anti-social, and quiet, the kind of person who prefers being by themselves and reading a lot.

"_You have to help us!"_ Dally said, surprising himself at how desperate he sounded. Suze rolled her eyes and she set down her book.

"Okay. Spill," she said, sounding bored. Dally took a deep breath and explained everything, with interjections and annotations from Johnny. Suze frowned in concentration, nodding occasionally and digesting the story.

Finally, when Dally was done, she said, "Okay." That was all she said. Dally narrowed his eyes at her. _"So will you help us?"_ Johnny asked hopefully.

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Johnny hoped she would help them. She was the only one who could. Suze shrugged. _"It's not like I've got a choice,"_ she said. _"I'm the only mediator I know of."_

"Can you really help us?" Johnny asked, unbelieving. Suze frowned at him.

"_Yes, I said I would help you. I'll figure something out. Now buzz off before I exorcise you,"_ she threatened.

Johnny put his hands up in surrender and faded back into the darkness of death, where idle ghosts remain, dormant, waiting for their chance or opportunity to venture back into the mortal world…back where he lived temporarily until his will was fulfilled…

Johnny shifted uncomfortably. _I know my parents were cheap and didn't care about me, but they could have gotten me a bigger coffin, for God's sake!_ He thought viciously.

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Dally, however, remained to bother Suze for another few minutes. _"So,"_ he said. _"You're a mediator?"_

Suze nodded, not looking up. Dally glided around to glance at the title of her book. _"'Gone With The Wind,'"_ he read aloud. _"Huh. Isn't that the one Pony's always reading?"_

Suze looked up at him, a funny expression on his face. "I _know_ you ain't talking about a horse," she said, almost questioningly. Dally explained about the Curtis brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy.

"Oh," Suze said. "Those are weird names." Dally scowled at her. "Weird in a good way," she explained, seeing his expression.

"_And I suppose you think Suze is a normal name?"_ Dally demanded cockily. "I never _said_ that," Suze argued. "I think it's better that my real name, anyway."

Dally snorted. _"You think Susan's a bad name? You should try Dallas sometime,"_ he laughed. Suze glared at him. "My name's not Susan," she said icily. "It's Susannah. Now leave me alone."

"_Or what? You'll exercise me?"_ Dally teased. "It's _exorcising,"_ Suze snapped. "BUZZ OFF!" she finally screamed, whacking Dally with her book.

Dally yelped in pain as her book hit him. He had no idea that humans could touch ghosts!

"Yeah," Suze smirked, reading his expression, "I can hit you. One of the high points of being a mediator. Now shove off."

Dally cussed at her, but she just stood up and walked away. He faded, still cussing.

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When Dally faded, he didn't go back to his coffin. He usually went to Buck's to throw things and scare the living daylights out of Buck himself, to the Shepard's to drink Tim's beer and laugh while Tim raged at whoever was there for drinking his beer, or to the Curtis', just to hang around in their dishwasher.

This time, however, he went somewhere that he immediately regretted.

"OUCH!" Johnny gasped in pain as he was squished against the side of the coffin. "Hey, kid. What's up?" Dally asked, his voice muffled.

"Dally! Get out! I can't…well, not like it matters anyway," Johnny said, at realizing that he no longer needed oxygen. "But I'm still squashed!"

"Alright, alright, I know when I'm not wanted," Dally said, pretending to be hurt. He faded, and Johnny relaxed. He liked Dally and all, but he needed his space.

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Tim and Curly Shepard relaxed on their front porch, smoking, catcalling, and drinking. Tim tipped his head back, taking a long drag of his cigarette. He turned towards his beer. It was empty.

"CURLY!" Tim roared angrily. Curly jerked around. "What?" he demanded.

"What the hell did you do with my beer?" Curly looked confused. "What? I don't know what you're talking about!"

Then his expression turned to one of fear. "Tim? Tim, what're you doing? Don't look at me like that! Tim? TIM!"

Somewhere, watching, unseen and unheard, Dallas Winston was laughing his head off.

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Suze stormed angrily to the next empty bench she saw, flopped down on it, and began reading again. Someone tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, annoyed. She turned, saying, "I already told you—" she broke off, seeing someone actually human.

"Oh," she said, embarrassed. "Sorry. I thought it was somebody else," she said, grinning sheepishly.

The guy smiled at her. He was handsome, with grayish green eyes and reddish brown hair that was bleached at the tips. He sat down next to her. "I saw you reading. That's a great book," he said.

Suze glanced at it. _Gone With The Wind._ "Oh, yeah. I really like it so far," she said, truthfully for once.

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Ponyboy had been sort of lonely since Johnny had died. Now, he finally thought he had found someone he could relate to. She even looked like Johnny, and she lived right across the street. He had watched her move in.

Finally, he thought he had found a friend. The tight knot of tension that had tightened in his chest every day since they had died was finally relaxing. Now if only he could find a way to untie it. Maybe she could help him.

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Whaddya think? Review.

Tomorrow's FRIDAY! Wahoo! I hate school. (It's my second day, and lucky me, I'm the new kid in town. Everybody knows each other and I know only a couple of friends who I have no classes with. Sorry to complain, but I feel like it and you don't HAVE to read this far.)

REVIEW.


	4. Secrets And Lies

CRAP! I am SO sorry! I put up the wrong chapter! Forgive me and read this one instead!

Chapter Four: Secrets and Lies

Suze shut her book, only slightly annoyed. He seemed like a nice kid. "Hi," she said, "I'm Susannah Carducci. But call me Suze." She stuck out a hand for him to shake.

He shook her hand, saying, "Hi. I'm Ponyboy Curtis. But you can call me Pony," he said, smiling.

The smile froze on Suze's face. _Ponyboy! Dallas was talking about him!_ Suze thought frantically, wondering what she should do.

Pony must have seen the expression on her face, because he peered at her and asked, concerned, "Are you okay?" Suze thought fast.

"Yeah. I was just wondering…did you happen to know Johnny Cade?" Suze asked. _According to Dallas, the two of them were best friends._

Pony's expression changed. The sides of his mouth drooped slightly, he lowered his gaze, and a shadow of sorrow crossed his face. Suze immediately felt bad for mentioning it. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I knew you guys were friends."

Pony looked at her. "How did you know?" he asked suspiciously. Suze was at a loss for words. "Um…I met him a while ago. We were passing through here…to, uh, close the deal on the house," she lied. "I was walking around and ran into him."

Ponyboy seemed to buy her excuse, because he nodded slowly and changed the subject. He started explaining to her about the whole Soc-Greaser thing.

Suze assured him that she was a greaser. _I must be a good liar. He bought that dumb lie. But seriously. He would think I was crazy if I told him I was a mediator._

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_I wonder if she knows how Johnny died,_ Ponyboy wondered briefly. _Nah, she couldn't. She barely knew him._

He walked around the park with Suze for a long time, talking about school, their families, their hobbies, and a lot of random stuff. They got started on _Gone With The Wind,_ and Ponyboy told Suze about how he had read it with Johnny in the old abandoned church.

That really got him started. He told Suze, someone he barely knew, everything. He told her about Soda, Darry, Two-Bit, Dally, and Johnny. He told her how he and Johnny had gotten jumped, and Johnny killed a Soc.

He told her how they had run to the old abandoned church, how Johnny had gotten him a copy of _Gone With The Wind,_ how they had read it. He told her how the church had burned down, how Johnny had given his life to save the kids, and how Dally had killed himself when Johnny died. He even told her about Soda's horse, Mickey Mouse.

He cried a little when he told her. She looked awkward for a moment, then reached out and gently wiped his tears.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I know how you feel." Her heart ached as she thought about his story, and her father.

Ponyboy wiped his tears hastily. "You must think I'm a loser," he said, embarrassed. Suze shook her head. "Not at all," she said quietly.

Ponyboy decided that he really liked her. He really did. "Hey, Suze?" he asked, kind of shakily.

"Yeah?"

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Ponyboy asked. He didn't know why he was so nervous.

"No, why?"

"How about I meet you at the Dingo tonight at eight?"

"Okay. See you there," Suze said, starting to walk away.

"It's a date," Ponyboy said very softly to himself after Suze had already walked away.

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Review.


	5. The Dingo Is Haunted!

**READ CHAPTER 4 BEFORE YOU READ THIS! I FIXED CHAPTER 4!**

Chapter Five:

Suze practically skipped home. She had plans for tonight, she had found someone she could relate to…and she had two juvenile delinquent ghosts to worry about. She stopped skipping.

She slammed the door behind her when she got home. "Susannah! How many times have I told you, DON'T SLAM THE DOOR!" Jan screamed from the kitchen.

Suze rolled her eyes and ignored her mother. Charlie came running in and caught hold of Suze's leg. Suze stumbled and almost fell over, grabbing the banister of the stairs just in time.

"Jeez, Charlie! Way to make me trip!" Suze teased him. Charlie giggled and ran back into the kitchen.

Suze ran upstairs, banging into Ryan. She grimaced at him, saying with a bittersweet sarcasm, "So sorry, Ryan." Ryan started to tell her off, but she pushed past him and slammed her bedroom door behind her.

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Ryan thundered into the kitchen with a heavy sigh. Jan rolled her eyes, chopping the carrots on the board rather violently. Charlie attempted to stuff three Oreos into his mouth. "Suze just won't accept me," Ryan lamented.

Jan sighed. "She was very close to Harry," she said softly, referring to Suze's father. "She's just like him. Having her around is just like having him around. And he was very stubborn," Jan added quietly.

"What can we do?" Ryan asked. "We're going to have to get along sometime. I just wish I knew how to get her to like me."

Jan stopped chopping and glared at Ryan. "Ryan!" she scolded. "How many times have I told you? Let _her _accept you _by herself!_ And while you're at it, don't try to be her buddy, or her father for that matter. Be…authority. Like one of her teachers."

Ryan sat, mulling it over. Would she really listen to him?

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Suze flopped on her bed and covered her face with her hands. _What the hell am I supposed to do about Johnny and Dallas?_ She groaned inwardly.

"_Hi," _someone said softly in her ear. Suze, not expecting that, panicked, shrieked, and promptly fell off her bed.

She straightened up and narrowed her eyes at the ghost before her. "Alright, what's the big idea?" she demanded.

Johnny shuffled his transparent feet sheepishly. _"Just coming by, ya know, to say hi…"_ he said, feeling embarrassed. He blushed bright transparent red.

Suze shrugged. "Whatever you say, man," she said casually. She swung her straight hair back. It bothered the hell out of her, but she couldn't find an elastic band for the life of her.

Johnny caved. _"Alright. Have you got a lead yet?" _he asked. Suze shook her head no while saying, "Yes." Johnny gaped at her. _"Huh?"_ he said stupidly.

Suze sighed. Tulsa was a long way from Homer Glen. "It _means,_ I haven't got anything yet, but I might find out more soon. I'm going with him to the Dingo tonight," she explained.

Johnny's eyes widened. _"You mean a date?"_ he exclaimed, half laughing. _"Wow. Pony's finally got a date!"_

Suze gave him a look. "It's NOT a date. We're going as friends. And some other people might be coming too, like Two-Bit, or what's-his-name…" she protested. Johnny just laughed harder.

Suze clenched her fists and narrowed her eyes. Johnny should have recognized the danger signs, but was too busy laughing.

Suze had had enough. She marched up to Johnny and gave him a good hard shove. He stumbled back and fell through the wall, cursing as mildly and politely as only Johnny could.

"Darn you to heck!"

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Suze bothered to comb her hair and change into her good jeans before leaving for the Dingo. She even attempted to flip her hair like all the "nice" girls did around here, but it ended up as straight as ever.

_Typical, _Suze groused. _I hate my hair._ She grabbed her keys, a few dollars, her old denim jacket, and slid down the rickety old banister to the front door.

"I'm going out!" she hollered into the kitchen. "I'll be back by eleven!"

Ryan appeared at the kitchen door. "Suze," he said sternly, "I don't think it's a good idea if you go out tonight."

Suze made a face at him. "You're not my father," she snarled. "I don't have to listen to you," she snapped, before slamming the door behind her.

Ryan sighed. _So much for authority,_ he thought glumly.

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Suze ran to the Dingo, cutting it pretty close to eight. She scanned the crowds until she saw the back of Pony's half reddish brown, half bleached blond head.

She ran over and sat down next to him. "Hey," she greeted. He looked over at her and grinned. "Hey," he said, smiling almost shyly.

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Johnny sat, invisible, a row behind them, smiling slightly. It was obvious the Pony liked her, but Suze seemed to be completely oblivious to that.

Dally flopped down next to him. "Hey, Johnnycakes. What's up?"

Johnny pointed to Ponyboy, who was currently debating whether or not he should put his arm around Suze.

Dally laughed. "Wow. That's twisted. Our mediator chick's going with Ponyboy." Johnny grinned. "She denies it," he said. Dally just shook his head amusedly.

Presently he yawned and stretched, knocking Johnny in the head. "Hey, watch it!"

"Why was your head in the way of my arm?" Dally sneered. Johnny shrugged. He was used to Dally, and knew by now not to take it personally.

"I'm going for some popcorn," Dally said. "I'm starved." Johnny stared at him. "But we don't eat!" he exclaimed. Dally shrugged. "So? I still want some popcorn."

He flew over to the popcorn stand and helped himself.

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Ponyboy finally got the courage to put his arm around Suze's shoulders. She smiled slightly.

The moment was ruined by a shrill scream coming from the popcorn stand. Suze and Ponyboy's heads whipped around simultaneously. Ponyboy rubbed his neck, grimacing. He had given himself a crick.

Angela Shepard screamed again, pointing at a bag overflowing with popcorn. It was floating in midair.

"The Dingo is HAUNTED!" she screamed.

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Dallas froze, glancing at the popcorn he was holding. "Whoops."

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People screamed and ran like the scaredy-cats they were. "Oh, no," Suze whispered. She felt someone grab her hand and pull her up.

"Come on!" Ponyboy yelled, dragging her along. Suze went along with him. Glancing back, she saw Johnny sinking down in his seat, embarrassed, before fading.

She also saw a sheepish looking Dallas, who caught her eye and shrugged, fading. The popcorn fell to the ground, but the Dingo was cleared out.

The night was dark and silent, and the wind sighed, slapping Suze's face as she ran along with Ponyboy.

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Three streets down, Suze slowed down. "Why are you still running?" she demanded. Ponyboy stopped, embarrassed.

They walked to Ponyboy's house in silence. "Well," Suze said, breaking the silence. "Sorry the night was ruined." _And when I get done with Dally, he'll be sorry too, _she thought viciously.

Pony shrugged. "It wasn't so bad, except I didn't get to do what I wanted to," he said shyly. Suze met his steady gaze.

"What was that?" Suze asked softly. _Oh, god, what's wrong with me? I'm acting like a, a, a, a girl! Well, duh, I am one._

Suze pushed away her cluttered thoughts and tried to focus. Pony was blushing like a tomato. He leaned over, gave her a quick kiss, said "Goodnight" hurriedly and ducked inside.

Suze stood on his front porch for a couple of minutes, grinning like an idiot. She finally managed to stagger off the front steps and run home with the wind.

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Ponyboy watched her run. Halfway down the street, she leapt up into the air, whooping and a breeze dancing with her hair. He smiled slightly. Then she was gone. Gone with the wind.

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I thought this might be a nice place to end it. The chapter, I mean. Not the story. Review, please.

Don't expect another chapter for a while. I have school, and I'm joining three clubs, and schoolwork, and a bunch of other crap to worry about. Like making friends, since we just moved.


	6. Are You Delusional?

Chapter Six: Are You Delusional?

Suze stopped when she could see her house again. She walked very slowly, quietly, tiptoeing to the front door.

She opened it as silently as possible and shut it noiselessly. She walked with a gait that made the average mime sound like a brass band.

Halfway up the stairs, her mother yelled, "Susannah Jane Carducci, it is an hour past your curfew!"

_Crud,_ Suze thought miserably, stomping up to her room, now no longer bothering to be quiet.

She slammed her door behind her, turned, and promptly banged into Dallas. She scowled at him. "You've got a lot of explaining to do!" she yelled, remembering too late that Jan, Ryan and Charlie could all hear her.

Dally shrugged, rummaging in his pockets for a cigarette and cursing when he couldn't find any. Suze wanted to punch him. "Don't you realize what you've done?" she hissed.

Dally smirked. _"Yeah,"_ he said loftily. _"I scared I bunch of freaks with a bag of popcorn. Big deal."_

"Actually, yeah, it is a big deal! Real people aren't supposed to know about ghosts!" Suze whispered, wishing she could scream. _"Why not?"_ Dally demanded.

"Because of the parallel universe!" Dally stared at her. _"What parallel universe?"_ he demanded. Suze sighed.

"The parallel universe, as you might have guessed, is a universe parallel to our own. The…ghost universe. Instead of carbon-based life forms, there are ectoplasm-based undead forms."

Dally stared at her. _"What the hell does that mean?"_ he blurted in disgust. Suze took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "It _means_ the afterlife. Where you're _supposed_ to go when you die."

"_So why can't humans know about it?"_ Dally wanted to know.

"Because it would throw off the balance of the two universes. Humans would want to know more about this universe, start killing off people to send them there and bring back results. There aren't enough mediators to take care of that. The harmonious balance of the two universes would be thrown off because there won't be enough carbon to match the ectoplasm," Suze explained. "The Chinese mediators knew about this a long time ago. It's yin and yang."

Dally's face cleared with comprehension. _"Oh," _was all he could say. _"What happens if it's thrown off?"_

"No one knows, or particularly wants to find out. Some mediators wanted to find out, but they ended up in the loony bin." Suze shook her head. "Now buzz off. I'm tired."

Dally smirked wider than ever and rested his arm on Suze's shoulder. _"Can I watch you undress?" _he teased, glancing up and down at her. Suze shifted so his arm slipped off her shoulder and gave him a hard shove.

Dally laughed hysterically, fading as he did so. Suze growled at him as he vanished. She pulled off her jacket and started to change, then thought better of it. Dally _could_ just have turned invisible. She hopped into bed fully dressed.

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Johnny appeared a few seconds later next to her. _"Suze?"_ Suze opened her eyes, and upon seeing him next to her, shrieked and rolled off the bed, falling with a thump on the floor.

Straightening up, she glared at him. "Jeez, Johnny, scare me to death why don'tcha?" Johnny looked embarrassed and blushed.

"_Sorry. I just found out something that I thought might help."_ Suze perked up, interested. "What?" she asked curiously.

"_It's about Tim Shepard. You know that gang leader?"_ Suze nodded. _"Well," _Johnny continued hesitantly. _"He's down at the park right now and, uh…"_

Suze was impatient. "Johnny, there's no time for this. What's going on?"

Johnny took her hand. _"You'd better see for yourself,"_ he said. As he said those words, the room distorted and Suze felt like she was on a rollercoaster. She was falling, and landed hard on the ground.

The night air was chilly and stars winked from above. _Oh, no,_ Suze thought. _Dally, I am going to kill you!_

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Dally stopped messing around and dropped Curly to the ground when he saw Suze coming. "Shit," he muttered, fading.

He reappeared and immediately got a mouthful of soapsuds. He heard voices as he spat out the soap only to get another mouthful, while being sloshed around in what appeared to be dirty bathwater.

"_Soda, you just had to make orange spaghetti tonight! Heavy dishwashing liquid doesn't come cheap, you know!"_

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Curly rubbed his painful ears, which he swore had stretched. Tim was swearing enough to turn the air blue, most of the gang had scattered, and beside Suze, Johnny was trembling.

"What happened?" Suze asked breathlessly. Tim turned on her. "Who the hell are you?" he snarled. Suze matched his stare with her own and snapped, "I heard screaming and came to see what was wrong."

"I wasn't screaming," Curly protested. Tim and Suze ignored him. Tim glanced at Suze. "What's a nice girl like you doing out late at night?"

"First of all, I'm not _nice,"_ Suze spat out the last word like it was poisonous. "Second of all, what happened? Just out of curiosity," she added hastily, seeing Tim's look.

"I dunno, man. Something freaky. We was just goofing around, when Curly gets lifted by his ears about ten feet in the air. Everybody scatters, and Juan is screamin' about 'el Diablo' or something like that. Then you come along, and Curly falls back down."

Suze frowned. "Lifted up in the air?" she repeated disbelievingly. "Are you sure you ain't just delusional? Do you have a fever?" Tim scowled and snapped, "I'm fine!"

Suze shrugged. "Whatever," she said, turning to leave. Tim grabbed her arm. "Don't you believe me?" he demanded. Suze wrenched her arm out of his grasp. "I don't know what to believe," she said darkly.

She ran back to where Johnny was standing behind a tree. She could hear Tim coming behind her. Johnny took her hand and the world started spinning…Suze landed on her soft bed.

Johnny was swooping around the room. "Look at me, I can fly!" he cheered. He turned and smashed into Dallas. Suze burst out laughing at the two of them.

Dally glared at her. _"Shut up,"_ he complained. Suze stopped laughing and threw her pillow at him. It hit the wall.

"You moron!" she yelled. "You keep this up, I'm going to exorcise you!" She could. Technically, it was only Johnny she had to help. He had never meant to die. Dallas, on the other hand…

She picked up her pillow and flopped down on her bed, burying her head under it. "Shove off. I'm tired…" she was almost asleep by the time she finished her sentence.

Dallas shrugged, fading. Johnny covered her with a blanket and whispered, "Goodnight," before fading. Suze barely heard him before she fell deeply asleep. Little did she know that with the new day came new surprises and danger.

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Ooh, what's gonna happen? Review to find out.


	7. The First Exorcism Of A Certain Soc

Chapter Seven: The First Exorcism of a Certain Soc

Disclaimer: I don't own Mediator or the Outsiders. That's kind of a given, ain't it?

Suze woke up as suddenly as though someone had yelled in her ear. Her mediator sense was tingling. Something was not right.

She glanced at the clock. Two a.m.! What had woken her up? She rolled over and saw Johnny's transparent face about an inch from her own. Oh.

"Whaddya want, Johnny?" she asked crabbily. "Wait," Suze said as Johnny opened his mouth. "Dallas, right?" Johnny nodded, and Suze cursed, rolling out of bed.

"_It's not so bad," _Johnny said in Dally's defense. _"Okay, maybe it is, but—"_ Suze cut him off. "Just tell me what he did."

"_The damage has already been done. He drove a Soc's car down the road."_ Suze stopped midway putting on a sock. "Oh. Is that all?" Johnny nodded. Suze pulled off her sock and flopped back into bed. "Don't bug me with things that happen to people who deserve it," she snapped.

"_That's not all," _Johnny said. Suze sat back up. "What? What?" she demanded.

"_Bob Sheldon's back from the dead. He's after me."_

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Johnny regarded Suze with wide eyes. He was afraid. Bob had beaten him up before, bad, and he was scared out of his wits. He couldn't kill Bob again…not that he would have the guts to, but it had always been an option before.

"_Okay," _Suze said, leaping up out of bed. _"Where is he?"_ Johnny shrugged. "I don't know," he said truthfully.

"I was hanging around the Curtis', when he appears right before my eyes and says 'I've been looking for you, grease. You killed me, and now I'm gonna mess you up worse than ever.' Then he vanished. He still had bloodstains," Johnny said, shuddering at the memory of killing Bob.

Suze frowned. _"Okay," _she said. _"I'll see what I can do. But we have to find him first, right? Just relax."_

Johnny did relax. He wished he could still smoke. He had tried, but it had no effect whatsoever. He felt safer, though. What could happen?

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Bob Sheldon appeared in all his translucent madras Sociness a few moments later. Johnny gasped in fear and turned, if possible, paler.

Suze groaned. "What's with you freaks and showing up at these weird hours?"

"_You're the mediator?" _Bob said scornfully, looking her up and down. "You were expecting maybe a weird old lady with a crystal ball?" Suze shot back.

"_You're here!"_ Bob said, glaring at Johnny. _"Yeah, and I got here first, so beat it,"_ Johnny said. Bob snarled, and it was clear he wanted a fight.

"Both of you cut it out!" Suze snapped. "My family's gonna hear you!" Johnny cursed at Bob and vanished.

Bob turned to Suze. _"I was gonna ask you to help me get revenge on him, but for some screwed up reason you're helping him. He murdered me, you know that? He murdered me!"_

"Like you weren't about to kill him and drown Ponyboy!" Suze shot back, unable to keep her mouth shut. Bob swooped down on her, howling, but Suze was ready. She drew her arm back and socked him really, really hard in the jaw.

Bob staggered back in pain. He clearly didn't know much about mediators. He swore loudly, and faded, just as Johnny had.

Suze sat quietly and thought. These damn ghosts were screwing up her life. She knew she had to help Johnny. Bob was only in it for the revenge. But what could she do about Bob? He clearly wasn't about to leave.

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It was the end of the week, and Suze was exhausted. Not because of the schoolwork or anything. Nope. It was all thanks to a certain late Bob Sheldon.

Monday, he had set her locker on fire. The fire department had had to come and everything. Suze had known who it was, but she told the principal she didn't know who would do it. How could she tell him it was a dead guy?

Tuesday, he had shoved her down the school's front steps, all the way down so that she crashed into the bike rack. She had a five inch bruise down her leg and a split lip.

Wednesday, he threw her headfirst into the garbage can. She struggled to get out until Ponyboy helped her out. She told him it was a Soc. Well, it was the truth.

Thursday, he put a tarantula in her lunch sack. Two-Bit Matthews kindly informed her that he could hear her scream all the way down in his English class.

Today, Friday, he had thrown her shirt and jeans into the swimming pool while she was in gym class. She had had to wear her gym clothes through all her other classes.

She never actually saw him while he was doing this. So how did she actually figure out it was him? Johnny informed her.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Suze screeched every time. _"Because I was afraid. He really hates me, Suze. I'm scared,"_ Johnny said, looking at Suze with those sorrowful, pained black eyes.

How could she say anything to him after that?

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It was Friday night. Ponyboy had asked Suze to the movies, but she had told him Saturday. She had something to do tonight.

She walked to the nearest general store and bought a bag of chicken blood, a ball of yarn, and a bunch of plastic sheets. The lady at the register gave her a funny look, but she didn't care.

She went home and got out the Mediator books she had bought for a dollar fifty from Madam Zinnia at the Chicago Craft Fair that she had always hidden from her mother. She turned to chapter eleven: Exorcism.

A few hours later, she glanced at the clock. It was eleven thirty. Suze cleared her throat, set to summon. "JOHNNY!" she hollered in ghostly undertones.

It was an ethereal voice, unheard to humans, but one that echoed throughout the ghost zone.

Johnny appeared a few seconds later. _"Whaddya want?" _he demanded, annoyed.

"I'm going to get rid of Bob Sheldon once and for all," Suze said, a manically evil glint in her eyes. She had never tried exorcism, and it sounded like fun. Sort of. But Suze was weird that way.

Johnny swallowed hard. _"Y-you mean—"_ he stuttered nervously. Suze nodded. "But you're going to have to take me to the fountain where you killed him," she said very matter-of-factly.

Johnny sighed, rolled his eyes, and held out his hand to Suze. _"I can't believe you're actually doing this," _he sighed. Suze drew back her hand. "Are you telling me that you want Bob haunting you for the rest of your ghostly days? If he keeps getting in the way, he'll kill me before I can help you."

Johnny shook his head violently. He didn't want that to happen. "Okay then," Suze said, taking his hand. It was cold and clammy.

The room started spinning and fell away. There was bright light, and Suze landed with a splash.

"Next time, Johnny, try aiming a bit outside the actual fountain, okay?" Johnny shrugged apologetically, grinning sheepishly. Suze was soaked.

She hauled herself out of the fountain, and turning to Johnny, said, "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to. Actually, you'd better get out of here. You might get exorcised along with Bob. Then I'll never see you again."

Johnny nodded, said _"Good luck," _quietly, and faded. In ghostly undertones, Suze summoned Bob.

"BOB! GET YOUR LAZY BEHIND OVER HERE _NOW!"_

Bob appeared. _"What?"_ he demanded annoyed. _"Whaddya want?"_

Suze took a deep breath and said the lines she'd been practicing all evening. "Bob, I've decided you were right. I've given up on Johnny, and I'm going to help you."

Bob stared at her, stunned. Suze stared right back, meeting his gaze evenly. _"What's with the chicken blood?"_ he demanded.

"I'm going to send Johnny away. Then you'll be free. Okay?" Bob nodded his consent. "Okay. You have to stand at the exact spot where he killed you, close your eyes and remember him killing you, and close your eyes. You have to keep your eyes closed, otherwise you'll be sent away too. Got it?"

Bob followed her instructions exactly. He stood on the spot and closed his eyes. His mouth set into a hard, grim line, and a slight frown appeared on his face, and Suze knew he was remembering.

Silently, she lay out the plastic sheets and arranged the yarn in the shape of a pentagram. She poured the chicken blood, chanting Madam Zinnia's spell. "Ash akeys polay hatsayou kabhi jambo…" Red smoke filled the area and Suze almost choked on it.

"_What's that smell? It that smoke?" _Bob asked curiously, opening his eyes a fraction. "Keep your eyes closed!" Suze said urgently, but it was too late.

"_What's going on?" _Bob said, looking around frantically. _"You're not trying to help me! You're trying to send me away!"_

Suze watched in horror as Bob's eyes turned red and he let out a howl of rage. Before her eyes, he grew, taller and taller, engulfed in the smoke. Suze started to frantically chant again. _Maybe if I keep going, it'll work anyway. _

She kept frantically chanting, watching in horror as the earth started shaking beneath her feet, as the sky turned blood red and Bob roared in anger. The red smoke was everywhere, and Suze inhaled a lot of it. It was making her dizzy. Wind was whirling around like a tornado.

Suze finished chanting and looked up. She screamed in horror, as a pentagram appeared in the sky. It was raining thick red drops of chicken blood. _Gross!_ Suze thought briefly, but what happened next wiped all thoughts out of her mind.

It was like there was a giant vacuum in the sky, in the heart of the pentagram. It was sucking up everything, the plastic sheets, which were blowing all over the place, the red smoke, the chicken blood, trees, grass, the sidewalk, everything. Only Suze seemed to be immune to it.

With an enraged howl, Bob wailed _"NOOOOOOO!" _as he, too, was sucked into the swirling mess. Suze was breathless; staring as Bob was sucked away.

Then it stopped. The plastic sheets and yarn setup Suze had set out was gone. The fountain, at least, was still intact. The sky turned black again, dotted with glittering stars. Suze sighed and relaxed, as the final breeze died down.

Too bad it wasn't over. Suze heard creaking of tree branches, and screamed, running frantically out of the way and one tree after another crashed down. She collapsed in the middle of the whole mess when all the trees had fallen, trembling.

Bob Sheldon was gone. Forever. No longer would he haunt Suze or Johnny. Now she could really get down to work.

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Ponyboy heard the crashing even down by his house. He ran outside, ignoring Darry's yell of, "Pony, where're you going?"

He ran to where he heard the next scream and more crashing, still running even after all the crashes had stopped. He found Suze sitting by the fountain where Johnny had killed Bob Sheldon, surrounded by broken trees, trembling violently and clutching a book.

"Suze, what happened?" he blurted out. Suze turned to him, her eyes wide with fear and apprehension.

_Uh oh, _Suze thought. _I've got a lot of explaining to do._

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Hah. So that takes care of that. I'm wondering how I'm going to finish this story. Hmmm. Meanwhile, I'm resisting the urge to start _another_ new story, this one about Steve. I'm resisting. I promised myself I'd finish at least one of these stories before I start another one.

Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, I worked hard on it (harder than I did on my English essay, anyway—I haven't even started it. : ) ) so review.


	8. Nothing Gold Can Stay

Chapter Eight: Nothing Gold Can Stay

Suze stood up shakily. "Um," she began. She didn't know how she would explain all this to Ponyboy. "You're not going to believe me if I tell you the truth," she said.

Ponyboy wasn't paying attention. He was surveying the damage with wide eyes. "Man," he said in awe. "Looks like a tornado came through here."

_Might as well have,_ Suze thought glumly. Ponyboy stared at her in astonishment. "Are you okay? What happened? What are you doing here?"

"I'm fine. If I told you, you wouldn't believe me," Suze said simply. "You'd call me crazy."

Ponyboy crossed his arms and tried unsuccessfully to cock an eyebrow. "Yeah, right," he said. "Try me."

Suze took a deep breath, thinking _here goes nothing,_ and launched into her story. "I'm a mediator," she said. Ponyboy blinked. "What?" he blurted.

"I'm a mediator. I can talk to ghosts. It's my job to help them fulfill their final wishes or whatever so they can go on and rest in peace for all eternity," Suze explained. When Ponyboy said nothing, she went on.

"I came to Tulsa because of my new stepfather, and I met a couple of ghosts who need help. All this," she said, gesturing around to the wreckage, "is from the exorcism I just did."

Ponyboy stared at her for a few more seconds, then, completely out of the blue and without warning, he tossed his head back and laughed, long and loud. Suze sighed. She knew she should have seen this coming.

Between gasps, Ponyboy choked out, "C'mon. You don't really expect me to believe that, do you?"

"No," Suze said quietly. "I told you you'd call me crazy." Ponyboy's laughter died down at the sight of Suze's serious face.

"Suze, seriously. What happened?" Ponyboy asked. "I told you," Suze said, knowing even as she said it that he still wouldn't believe her. "I had to exorcise someone."

Ponyboy looked skeptical. Suze pressed on. "You know what's been happening to me all week? My locker on fire? The tarantula in my bag? Getting thrown into the garbage can? My clothes in the swimming pool? That was the guy I had to exorcise just now."

"You told me a Soc threw you into the garbage can," Ponyboy said accusingly. "A Soc did," Suze said truthfully. "It was Bob Sheldon."

"Bob Sheldon?" Ponyboy sputtered. "Bob Sheldon? You just exorcised Bob Sheldon?"

"Yes!" Suze exclaimed. "But why was he bothering you?" Ponyboy wanted to know. Suze sighed.

"Because," she said, not wanting to tell him. "He wanted revenge. But I couldn't help him get revenge, because I was already helping the one he wanted to get revenge on. And he wanted revenge for all the wrong reasons."

"He wanted revenge? On…" Ponyboy trailed off, seemingly unable to say his former best friend's name.

"Johnny Cade," Suze finished for him. Ponyboy met her gaze, his face full of shock and bewilderment. But, Suze noted, there wasn't a trace of disbelief.

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Johnny Cade? Suze was a mediator helping Johnny Cade? This was just too supernatural to be true. And yet…

Ponyboy found himself believing Suze anyway. Her expression was honest and open, and her eyes didn't have the cheap hardness like most people did when they were lying.

"Can I talk to him?" he found himself asking. He sounded like a little kid, he knew, and hated himself for it.

Suze looked down. "You can't," she said to her sneakers. "But…if you wanted, I could talk for both of you. Ghosts can hear and see humans, but humans can't hear or see ghosts or interact with them. But mediators can."

Ponyboy brightened considerably. "Okay," he said. "When can I talk to him?" Suze looked up. "Right now, if you want."

Ponyboy couldn't stop a wide grin from spreading across his face. Finally, one last chance to talk to his best friend, Johnny Cade.

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Suze shouted in ghostly undertones, "JOHNNY CADE!" Her lips were moving, but she knew Ponyboy couldn't hear her.

Almost immediately, a breeze blew through and Johnny was there, anticipation written on his face. _"Is Bob gone?" _he asked immediately.

"Yes," Suze said, "He's gone." Ponyboy was looking where Suze was, squinting at Johnny, clearly not seeing him.

"_Ponyboy?"_ Johnny said, his already large eyes widening even further. _"Why's he looking at me like that?"_

"He can't see you," Suze explained. "But he knows you're there. I told him everything." Johnny stared at her. _"What? Why?"_

"He heard me exorcising Bob and came running. How else could I explain all this?"Suze demanded, gesturing at the fallen trees.

"_I guess,"_ Johnny said skeptically. _"So why do you need me?"_

"Ponyboy wanted to talk to you," Suze said. "I'm going to tell him everything you say."

Johnny nodded slowly, and then a mischievous look crossed his face. Suze looked at him suspiciously. "I don't like that look," she said carefully.

"_I could possess you," _Johnny said, grinning. _"Dally tried it. He said it was real tuff."_

Suze started backing up slowly. "Johnny, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"_C'mon, Suze. How else is Pony going to believe you? Here's actual proof!"_ Suze stopped. He had a point. "Alright," she said reluctantly. "But remember, I'm a mediator. I can kick you out anytime I want."

"_Fine with me,"_ Johnny said. He glided back a few yards, took a running start, and leaped…into Suze's body.

Suze stumbled back from the force of Johnny diving into her. Her mind clouded and her bones rattled in agony. Clutching her head in pain, Suze fell to the ground. The world was spinning and she couldn't stop and everything was chaos and crazy…and then it stopped.

It was as though Suze was merely an observer in her own mind, watching Johnny take control. He saw with her eyes, breathed with her lungs, spoke with her mouth…and all Suze could do was watch.

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Johnny grinned widely with Suze's mouth. Dally was right. This _was_ wicked cool. It was nice to be in control of something solid again.

Suze was there, watching, making comments. "This is weird," she said. Her voice sounded distant.

_This is tuff,_ Johnny thought happily. Suze covered her ears. "Could you not think so loud?" she whined. Johnny rolled Suze's eyes.

"Hi, Ponyboy," he said cheerfully. He may have been in Suze's body, but when he spoke, it was with his own voice.

Ponyboy turned white as a sheet and stuttered, "J-Johnny? Is that really you?" Johnny grinned with Suze's mouth. "The one and the only," he said. He did a little dance. "I've forgotten how great it is to be human," he said.

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Ponyboy couldn't believe it. "Johnny? How is that you?" he practically squeaked with astonishment. It was Suze's body, but Johnny's voice. And, if he looked very closely, he could see Johnny reflected in her eyes.

"I possessed Suze," he said, still dancing and now twirling. "So I could talk to you. Now do you believe her? She's a mediator, and she's gonna help me go to the other side."

Ponyboy's mouth drooped slightly. Johnny was moving on as soon as Suze could help him. He had lost Johnny once, and found him. Now he was going to lose him all over again.

Johnny noticed and stopped twirling. "Pony? What's wrong?" Ponyboy blinked back tears.

"It ain't fair!" he said passionately. "We lost you once, now I'm gonna lose you all over again!" Johnny's, or Suze's, shoulders sagged.

"I'm sorry, Pone," he said timidly. "But I hate being a ghost. It's boring, and lonely, only got other ghosts to talk to, and it's always cold. I haven't been warm ever since I came back."

"Why _did_ you come back?" Ponyboy asked curiously, looking up. Johnny looked uncomfortable. "It's a long story," he said mysteriously. Ponyboy was dying to know, but he didn't press Johnny.

"So," Ponyboy said, changing the subject. "Seen Dally?" Johnny brightened. "Yeah. He would've come, except he's busy scaring the hell outta Tim Shepard."

Ponyboy laughed heartily. That sounded exactly like what Dally would do. For the first time since Johnny and Dally had died, he felt like something inside of him that had been empty for a long time was being filled.

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Suze smiled inside her own head. It was one of those rare moments when she got a warm fuzzy feeling about being a mediator. She decided she had better give them their privacy.

"Hey Johnny?" she said. _Yeah?_ Johnny thought back. "I'm going to leave you guys alone for a while. I'm gonna go see what it's like being a ghost for a day."

Johnny laughed aloud. Ponyboy stared. "What's so funny?" Johnny explained, and Ponyboy's eyes grew wide. "She can do that?" he said incredulously.

"Sure. She is, after all, a mediator." Ponyboy and Johnny laughed, though Suze didn't find it very funny. She stepped outside her body, and Johnny took full control.

Immediately, she felt freezing cold. She shivered. Johnny grinned at her, apparently able to see her. She stuck out her tongue at him and faded. She had a very special visit to make. Actually, several. But that was beside the point.

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Ponyboy and Johnny watched the sunrise together, and walked around town for a long while, talking, laughing, and catching up.

_Nothing gold can stay,_ Ponyboy remembered. He knew he had precious few golden moments left with Johnny, and he would make them worthwhile. Maybe nothing gold could stay, but the memory of it, he knew, would resound in his memory and bring him comfort for years to come.

_Nothing gold can stay,_ Ponyboy thought. _But it's worth it while it lasts._

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That's the end of chapter eight. Chapter nine will be up soon…when I feel like it. Coming up next chapter: why _is_ Johnny still around? Why is Dally? What will Suze do in her day as a ghost?

The faster you review, the faster the next chapter comes up. : )


	9. In Your Heart

Chapter Nine: In Your Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own Mediator or the Outsiders. If I did, I wouldn't be writing crappy fan fiction.

Suze shivered and started off. She wasn't really walking, she noticed, more like gliding. She tried jumping up and landed in a tree. _This is going to take some getting used to,_ Suze thought.

Struggling with the branches and leaves, she made herself ghostly liquid, so she could just seep through anything. It was one advantage of being a ghost; you could go anywhere. Well, anywhere in this dimension, anyway.

She stopped herself just in time, before she fell through the Earth's surface.

She spent the first hour or so getting used to being a ghost. She haunted the drugstore and stole a Coke, catching herself just before she made the same mistake Dally did and give people the impression of a floating beverage.

She stopped by her own house, too. She caught her mother and Ryan talking, and was just about to leave them to their dull conversation when she heard her own name being brought up. She settled down to listen.

"…_Oh, Ryan, don't beat yourself up about it. Suze is…well, she's just like Harry. She likes to test people,"_ Jan sighed.

"_How long can it take her, Jan?"_ Ryan sounded frustrated. _"I promised myself I wouldn't be like my own stepfather. I don't want to be her father. I'd at least like to be friends, if nothing else."_

Suze was shocked. Ryan had had a stepfather of his own? No wonder he was trying so hard. Suze resented him for that, for trying to be her father, when all the while he was just trying to get to know her. Shame washed over her, and nearly drowned her.

The topic changed and Suze left, not wanting to intrude any further. She had other work to do.

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A few minutes later, she ran into Dally. "Hey, Dally," she greeted. Dally heard her and turned to greet her.

"Hey, Su—WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" He demanded, staring at her in horror. Suze nearly laughed and started to tell him the truth. Then she decided to have some fun.

"I got hit by a car," she teased. Dally stared and sputtered incoherently for almost a whole minute before Suze decided to spare him.

"I'm joking. Johnny possessed my body to talk to Ponyboy, and I decided to see what life as a ghost was like."

Dally's eyes narrowed and he swung at her angrily. He missed, blinded by his rage. "You—!" Dally cussed her out. "Jeez, Suze, you scared the hell outta me! Don't do that!"

"Yeah," Suze said breezily. "Whatever. I'll see you later. I've got some work to do." She faded, leaving Dally to curse till the air with blue with swearing.

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Yes, Suze had some work to do. But how she was going to go about it, she didn't know. She let herself fly with the breeze until she could rest on the clouds, surrounded by blue sky. She settled back to think.

Smothered by the rich blueness of the sky, she thought back to what Johnny had said the day she had met him and Dally, and the two of them had explained their predicament.

Most ghosts couldn't go on because they hadn't fulfilled something from their past life or something in their past life was a mystery that had to be solved. In Johnny's case, it was both.

When Johnny was five years old, his father was drunk and beating him. Nothing so unusual about that, Dally had interjected. Johnny, being only five years old, blacked out.

When he finally came to, he heard his parents talking in low voices. He didn't dare stir, in case they started beating on him again. He remembered that they were arguing, not yelling or throwing things, but just arguing in quiet and urgent voices.

"…_How do you explain that, Maria? How?"_

"_It was a mistake, Richard. It was a mistake…he was a mistake."_

"_Well, what are we supposed to do with him? We could give him up for adoption."_

"_No!"_

"_What the hell do you mean by no?"_

"_I can't give him up, Richard. You don't know what it's like…to have a child of your own. I can't just give him up."_

"_You'll regret that, Maria. You will, I promise you. I swear, as long as he lives in this house, both your and his lives will be a living hell. That's your choice to make."_

"_He's my son, Richard. And now, he's yours too."_

That had been all Johnny could remember of the conversation. What Dally and Suze had known right away, and what Johnny had refused to believe at first, was that Johnny was only Maria Cade's child. He had no genetic relation whatsoever to Richard Cade.

With that cleared up, there was still the question of why Maria had stayed with Richard all these years, why she hadn't just married Johnny's father, whoever he was.

As for what Johnny had to fulfill, well…

"_I have to talk to Ponyboy one last time," _Johnny had said. _"I need to tell him something. Something I forgot to mention in my last letter to him. Something important."_

"_If it was so important, why didn't you just tell him the first time around?" _Dally had demanded at this point.

"_Hey, give me a break,"_ Johnny had complained. _"I was dying."_ Dally had shut up after that.

And why was Dally still around? That Suze didn't have to worry about. He was discontent because Johnny was discontent. He couldn't rest easy until Johnny was.

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Lifting herself up off the cloud, Suze decided she would worry about that later. Right now, she had her own personal troubles.

She didn't think she had ever actually told her dad she was a mediator. Yet, somehow, he had known. Suze remembered what he had told her once, when they were alone.

"Suze," he had said quietly. "No matter what happens, you'll always be my Suzy. If anything should ever happen, just look for me in your heart."

Suddenly, it all made sense. Suze had always thought had meant "Follow your heart" or some dumb saying. But her father had never really been one for sayings. He had meant it quite literally.

Suze faded. It was the fastest method of ghost transportation she knew of. She reappeared a few seconds later in her bedroom. She zoomed over to the closet and started rummaging around for one of the few things she had brought from their old house in Homer Glen.

It was the golden, heart shaped pendant her father had bought for her on her fourteenth birthday, the last one she had spent with him.

"Your heart" meant, quite literally, her heart necklace. Now, if only she could figure out how to use it.

Her hands moved almost automatically to clasp the necklace around her neck. It occurred to her that she had never worn this necklace before. She wondered why vaguely as she fumbled with the clasp at the back.

The chain was long enough so that the pendant hung down exactly where Suze's heart was. She waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing.

Suze sighed in disappointment. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up. She turned to drift away sadly…and gasped in astonishment.

Her room was gone. Cornfields and miles of open road stretched before her. She could smell a familiar scent of spice and mint in the air, and it brought tears to her eyes.

"Don't cry, Suzy," someone said. Suze wiped at her eyes hurriedly. "I'm not cry—" she stopped mid-sentence. Only one person had ever called her Suzy…

She whirled around, not daring to believe it until she saw it with her own eyes. "Daddy!"

Suze ran into the open arms of her grinning, transparent father. "Oh, Suzy," he exclaimed. "I was wondering when you'd figure it out!"

He broke the hug to examine her more closely. "You've grown up a lot," he said admiringly. Suze smiled through her tears.

"Don't cry, Suzy. I'm always here for you. All you have to do is wear the necklace."

Suze's smile faded at his words. "But…Dad," she said. "Didn't you go on, you know, to the afterlife?"

Harry smiled at his daughter's concern. "Suzy, this _is_ my afterlife. When you were born, my whole life changed. I took one look at you, and I knew."

"Knew what?" Suze blurted out, frowning in confusion. "Knew you were a mediator," Harry responded.

Suze's jaw dropped. "You…knew?" she said in disbelief. Harry nodded.

"Oh, yes," he said. "Yes. There's a long line of mediators from my side of the family. Your grandmother was one, though she died before you knew her. Otherwise you would have trained under her, been her apprentice."

"But I still don't understand," Suze said in a small voice. "Why are you here?"

"I'm getting to that," Harry said shortly. "Listen, Suze. I was a small town kid, a bit of a hick. And I stayed that way, all throughout my life. Until you were born. That's when I knew my life had a purpose. And when I died before my time, well, this became my afterlife."

"But you gave me the answer," Suze reminded him. "How did you know?"

Harry just grinned. "That's for me to know and you to never find out," he said mysteriously. "Some things are better left untold."

Suze knew her father well enough not to press him. "So," Harry abruptly changed the subject. "Why are you transparent? You didn't die, did you?" he asked worriedly.

Suze laughed at his concern and reassured him that, no, she had not died. She launched into the story, starting from the very beginning, when she had moved to Tulsa until now.

When she had finished, Harry was looking at her strangely. "What?" Suze asked, not sure she wanted to know.

"Did you say, Johnny Cade? And his father was Richard Cade?" Harry asked, still giving her a strange look.

"Yes," Suze said, wondering where this was going. Harry held out his hand, and Suze took it.

"Come with me," he said. "I think I have something that can help you."

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An update after so long! I'm so proud of myself. Kindly review and tell me what you thought of it.

Also, tell me what you think of maybe adding in a bit more of Tim and Curly Shepard or the Ponyboy and Suze romance thing. There's got to be more to this story than just the mediator factor.


	10. The Truth About Johnny

Chapter Ten: The Truth About Johnny

"Where are we going?" Suze asked, not knowing why she was whispering as she did so.

"Shhh," Harry hushed her. "Just keep quiet. If we get caught…" he trailed off. Suze swallowed hard and kept her mouth shut.

Everything around them faded and Suze felt a sensation in her stomach like she was falling. She shut her eyes and struggled not to scream as they plummeted through the inky darkness.

"Before you open your eyes, Suzy," Harry said. "I must ask you not to scream." Suze swallowed and nodded her head firmly in agreement.

"Okay," Harry said softly. "Open your eyes." Suze did so, and bit her tongue to keep from shrieking. She staggered backwards and almost took off running, but Harry hung onto her.

"It's okay, it's all right," he reassured her. "I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you." Suze relaxed and managed to choke out, "W-what _is_ that?"

"That," Harry said sadly, "is Karl Carducci." Suze recognized the name immediately.

"Karl Carducci? As in Uncle Karl? Your older brother?" she practically squeaked with disbelief. "But…what…?"

"You know he died about sixteen years ago, when you were just a baby," Harry explained. "He was found stabbed and hung from the rafters of the old abandoned red barn down the road. This is him. He was never moved."

Suze fought to keep her breakfast in her throat. When she had recovered, she asked, "But, Dad, what does this have to do with—?"

"I found this out only after I talked to him. When I died. He was in love with Maria Johnson sixteen years ago. They were planning to get married." He stopped to take a deep breath. Suze took his hand and squeezed it gently to comfort him.

When he had composed himself, Harry went on. "But although Karl and Maria were in love, Maria's abusive ex-boyfriend was still in love with her. They could never prove it, but Karl told me himself. That boyfriend killed him."

Suze could see where this was going. Her eyes widened. Harry noticed and grinned humorlessly. "I see you've figured it out," he said wryly. "You always were a bit of a detective."

Suze nodded absently. The gears were clicking in her head. "Oh, no," she muttered. "I've got to tell Johnny."

Harry smiled and hugged his daughter. "You'd better be going back," he said gently.

"What? No! Why?" Suze exclaimed, panicking. She had already lost her father once; she was not about to let him go again.

"Suzy," he whispered. "I don't like it any more than you do. But it's getting dark. Your mother's going to be worried."

"She's always worried," Suze groused. Harry tossed his head back and laughed. "So she is," he said, chuckling. "So she is. Come on, Suzy. We've got to get you back."

Suze felt the ground melting beneath her feet and couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. "Will I ever see you again?" she asked.

"Yes, Suzy. You will. Some day," Harry promised. "I love you, Suzy."

"I love you, too, Dad!" Suze shouted as everything faded. "I'll never forget you!"

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Suze found herself lying flat on her bed, tears still rolling down her cheeks, trembling. She had just touched with her fingertips a world she had never known of, apart from the two universes or anything else. It was like living in itself.

_Speaking of living,_ Suze thought suddenly, sitting up straight. _I've got to go get my body back._

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The sun had set a long time ago. Ponyboy shivered. Johnny was pacing back and forth nervously.

"Where's Suze?" he groaned. "What if something happened to her? What if she got lost somewhere and can't come back?"

"Quit worrying," Ponyboy said, more to convince himself than Johnny. "Suze can take care of herself."

"_Hey, Suze,"_ Dally said, appearing.

"It's Johnny," Johnny corrected him.

"Who's there?" Ponyboy demanded.

"_Ponyboy?"_ Dally exclaimed, apparently not having heard Johnny.

"He can't see you, Dally," Johnny explained. "Suze told him everything."

"_But you're Suze,"_ Dally said, frowning in confusion.

"I'm JOHNNY," Johnny said, a grin spreading across his face. "I possessed Suze!"

"_Tuff enough, Johnnycakes,"_ Dally said, grinning.

Suze appeared. _"Oh, good, you're all here!"_ she said, sounding pleased.

"Suze? Did you find out anything?" Johnny asked eagerly.

"Suze?" Ponyboy exclaimed, staring in the wrong direction.

All three boys started talking at once. Suze had had enough. "STOP!" she screamed. "One at a time! First things first. I want my body back! _Then_ I'll explain everything."

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Ending it here. The chapter, not the story. Kindly review and tell what you think, nice or mean.


	11. What's Your Problem?

Chapter Eleven: What's Your Problem?

Johnny sulked. "Fine," he said sullenly. Suze took a running start and reclaimed her body.

"Ah," she said in satisfaction. She stretched out her arms and looked at her hands. Thank God, they were solid.

"S-Suze?" Ponyboy stammered, staring at her. "Is that you or Johnny?"

"I'm really Suze. Johnny's over there," she said, pointing. Ponyboy looked in the general direction where Suze was pointing, under the impression that he was looking at Johnny, but was actually off by five or six feet.

Johnny waved at Ponyboy, even though he knew full well that Ponyboy couldn't see him. _"I'm going to miss that kid,"_ Johnny sighed.

"_Ya'll have fun being sentimental," _Dally drawled. _"But I've got stuff to throw and beer to drink and dishwashers to hang out in. See ya,"_ he added before fading.

"Hey!" Suze yelled. "Wait! What do you mean by dishwashers?"

But it was too late. Dally was gone. Suze cursed and kicked at nothing in particular.

"Is Johnny gone?" Ponyboy asked anxiously.

"No," Suze sighed. "But Dally's going to do some stuff that could me in big trouble. People aren't supposed to know about ghosts. And by the way, don't try telling anybody about this whole thing," Suze added, glaring at Ponyboy.

Ponyboy tried and failed to cock an eyebrow. "You think I'm that stupid?" he said, sounding offended.

"Well, no," Suze said. "I was just going to say that I'd kick your sorry behind. Right after you got out of the loony bin, of course."

Ponyboy's eyes bugged. "Are you calling me crazy?" he practically yelled.

His words came at her with such force that she actually took a step back. "No," she said in shock. "I was just joking."

"Well, maybe I don't like jokes!" Ponyboy shouted.

"What is your problem?" Suze shouted back, getting mad. "Why are you acting like this?"

Ponyboy started to say something, but stopped abruptly. His cheeks were blotchy red, contrasting with the rest of his face, which had gone quite pale.

"Never mind," he said quietly. Something had come over him. All of a sudden he looked younger, vulnerable, lost even.

They stood there for a while, all three of them. Ponyboy and Suze just looked at each other, and Johnny glanced nervously between the two of them. There was no telling what they might do next.

Finally, Ponyboy turned and walked away without a word. Somehow, his silence hurt more than his words ever could. It wrenched at Suze's soul and tore her to pieces.

"_I've never seen him act like this before,"_ Johnny said when Ponyboy had gone. _"What's come over him?"_

"I don't know," Suze said. Her own voice surprised her, how it was hard and low and yet trembling.

Without really thinking about what she was doing, she started running. She ran all the way home, taking care she didn't so much as glance at the house across the street.

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"Suze!"Johnny yelled after her. "Wait! What were you going to tell me? SUZE!"

But it was no use. Johnny considered going after her, but decided against it. It was clear that tonight, she just needed her space.

He faded and went back to his coffin, but decided against it and went to one of Dally's regular haunts.

"Hi, Dal," he said dejectedly, appearing in the swirling suds of the Curtis' dishwasher.

"Hey, Johnny," he greeted in surprise. "What brings you here?"

"Suze ran off before she could tell me," Johnny said.

The effect was electric. "WHAT?" Dally roared. "You just wait; I'll give that broad a piece of my mind…"

"No, Dally, wait!" Johnny shouted, grabbing Dally's arm before he could fade. "Leave her alone. There's always another night, right?"

Dally calmed visibly. "I suppose," he grumbled. "But that chick—!"

"Let her alone, Dal. Tonight she just needs her space."

They could hear voices outside the dishwasher. They stopped talking and leaned in to listen…

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"I just can't believe her!" Ponyboy fumed to Soda. "I mean, I didn't know what to do or say! I just…never mind. Calling me crazy. I'll show her crazy," he muttered threateningly.

"Ponyboy," Soda was saying patiently. "Maybe I could help you out if you would just _tell_ me what the hell she said!"

Ponyboy stopped short. How could he tell Soda about what had happened that night, even if he knew he could trust Soda?

"Never mind," he sighed. "I'm going to sleep. I'm tired."

He stalked into their room and slammed the door shut. After a while, Soda dared to go in. Ponyboy heard him come in and pretended to be fast asleep. Soda didn't say anything, but instead lay down and closed his eyes. After a while Ponyboy could hear his deep, even breathing that let him know his older brother was asleep.

But Ponyboy couldn't sleep. He wondered why he was acting like he was. He had already let go of Johnny and Dally once, so why was he having such trouble doing it again, and in the process hurting someone he thought he might be falling in love with?

And then he thought, _Hey, wait a minute…_

His emotions battled. He loved Suze…at least he thought so. He didn't want to let go of Johnny and Dally, even though he knew he had to…didn't he? Maybe he could convince Suze to not tell Johnny what she knew. But that would be selfish, wouldn't it? He just didn't know anymore.

Suddenly exhausted, he fell back on his bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He didn't wake up until Soda woke him up in time for school.

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"You'd better not touch my beer this time, Curly," Tim warned. "No, Tim," Curly reassured him yet again, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

"I mean it, Curly."

Curly backed away ten feet. "See? Now even if I wanted to I couldn't."

Tim turned his back to Curly and his beer for a short moment to light his cigarette, then turned back. His beer was gone.

"CURLY!"

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	12. Makeover? What Are You, Nuts?

Chapter Twelve: Makeover?

Suze refused to speak to or even look at Ponyboy at school the next day. Her heart was breaking, but she had her pride.

Instead of sitting with him and his greaser friends at lunch, she sat by herself and read a book. Once or twice she glanced up at Ponyboy to find him staring at her, and she would quickly avert her gaze and continue glaring at her book.

A shadow fell over her table. It was Angela Shepard. "Why aren't you sitting with your boyfriend?" she asked in a hard voice.

"He's not my boyfriend," Suze said. "We just had a fight and aren't speaking."

"Why? You wouldn't go out with him?"

Suze said nothing and went back to reading her book. How was she supposed to tell Angela that Ponyboy was being ornery because she had to send his best friend into the afterlife?

"Oh," Angela said. "I see. You like him, but he doesn't get it."

Suze's head shot up. "What?" she exclaimed. "No! That's not it at all!"

"Denial. Its okay, Suze, it happens to the best of us."

"But it's not—!" Suze protested in vain. Angela stopped her. "What you need is a makeover."

Her words hung heavy in the air. After a moment, Suze broke out laughing. "A makeover?" she said. "What is this, some dumb beach party movie or something?"

"I'm serious," Angela said with a straight face. "You want Ponyboy to like you back, you need to look the part. Trust me, boys don't like girls who don't dress like they want."

"Ponyboy isn't like that!" Suze snapped. "If he were, I wouldn't like him! As a friend," she added hurriedly, but it was too late.

Angela crowed, "I knew it!"

"Shut up! People are staring!" Suze hissed.

"Suze," Angela said patiently. "What could it hurt? Just bear with me for one day. You watch. You'll love it so much, you'll never want to change back."

"Um," Suze said intelligently while she thought about it. Angela was looking at her expectantly. What could it hurt? Suze glanced at Angela's high heels. In those shoes, a lot.

She sighed, defeated. "Sure," she said grudgingly. "But why are you doing this?"

Angela shrugged. "You need some help, Suze," she said. "It's my way of doing community service."

"So, basically you feel sorry for me?" Suze said, beating around the bush. Angela nodded, unabashed. "Basically. Meet me after school," she added before walking away.

Suze sighed and put her head down. What had she gotten herself into?

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"Two-Bit?" Ponyboy said. "Yeah, Pony?" Two-Bit said distractedly. He was busy fiddling with his switchblade.

"Why does Suze keep looking at me and then go back to reading?"

Two-Bit glanced subtly over at Suze. Angela Shepard was talking to her. "Uh oh," he muttered. "Pony, you'd better make up with her soon, cause if Angela gets a hold of her, I shudder to see the results."

Ponyboy sighed inwardly. _If only it were that easy,_ he thought.

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"Johnny, tell Suze to get over her personal life and just bloody tell you!"

"Dally, I can't! I can't just barge in on her when she's in school! Anyway, I've waited this long, I can wait a bit longer, just give her time. I want to see Ponyboy and her happy together before we leave them forever!"

"Whatever. I'm gonna go have a little talk with Miss Thing…"

"Dally! NO!" Johnny groaned, but it was hopeless. Dally was fading already. Johnny sighed and shrugged to himself. Oh well. Might as well. He faded too.

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"_Suze!"_ Dally shouted, appearing in front of her as she walked out of school. She looked surprised to see him, but didn't stop and walked right through him.

Dally yelped with laughter. _"Don't do that!"_ he roared. _"That tickles!"_

Dally followed her around, shouting, until Suze finally lost it and turned around and hit him in the face.

He was surprised at how hard she could hit. _"Hey!" _ He shouted as she took off running. _"You—!"_ he faded, still cursing, and as much as he searched, he couldn't find her anywhere.

Little did he know that she was in the last place he'd ever look for her.

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I know, I know, it lasted about three seconds. But whatever. Next chapter up soon.


	13. Not Over Yet?

Chapter Thirteen: Not Over Yet?

Tim and Curly were sitting on their beat-up old sofa, listening to their sister Angela arguing with some girl named Suze.

They both thought Angela had lost her mind. But, as she put it, once Ponyboy broke up with Suze for good he was open game, which was bound to be soon.

They now listened quietly to the shouting coming from Angela's room.

"No freaking way!"

"Suze, just shut up and let me put some makeup on."

There was a thump and a crash. Curly leapt up, but Tim held him back. "Let them settle this," he said coolly, blowing a ring of cigarette smoke.

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"Suze, you promised you'd go along with this," Angela reminded her threateningly.

"Why are you doing this again?" Suze asked wearily.

"Out of the goodness of my heart," Angela said. Suze cocked an eyebrow and set her face in a "yeah-right" expression. Angela just gazed back, wide-eyed and innocent.

"Here, let me put this on your teeth," she said. Suze let her, but recoiled almost immediately.

"Ugh! What the hell is that? It's disgusting!"

"It's perfectly harmless. You just put it on your teeth and it reminds you to smile," Angela explained, reaching forward with the paste again.

Suze caught her arm in her own and grimaced. "I'm smiling," she said through gritted teeth.

Angela gave up and handed Suze some clothes. "Here," she said. "You can borrow these. Come out when you're ready. And don't mess up your hair. It took me an hour to get it right."

"I know," Suze grumbled. For an hour, Angela had pulled, pinned, and prepared Suze's hair until it was in a perfect perm. Even so, it was already falling out of its springy curls.

When Angela had left the room, Suze pulled on the clothing Angela had given her. She took one look in the mirror and said to herself, "Oh no. Not gonna happen."

Somebody banged on the door. "You ready yet?" Angela barked.

"That depends," Suze said. "Your brothers still out there?"

"Yeah," Angela said, surprised.

"Then I'm not coming out!"

"Suze!"

"No way!"

"Fine," she said haughtily. There was momentary silence, then there was much louder banging and Tim said harshly, "You'd better open this door before I break it down and by God I will!"

Suze opened the door a fraction of an inch. "I look like a slut," she growled. "I think these are too small."

"Nonsense," Angela said briskly. "They're mine. We're about the same size."

Suze groaned inwardly. That was exactly what she had been afraid of. "Come on," Tim coaxed. "It ain't nothing we haven't seen before."

"Then go over where you've seen it and look at it there," Suze snapped, making to shut the door again. Angela hurriedly stuck her foot in the door.

Angela gasped audibly. Tim let out a low whistle. "No. Freaking. Way. No way in hell," he murmured, looking over Suze. Curly ambled over and would have said something if Suze hadn't been giving him a death glare.

Suze blushed crimson. "I'll just change back…" she said, highly embarrassed. It was a new sensation to her. She didn't get embarrassed easily.

Tim shook his head. "You have really outdone yourself, Angel."

"I know."

"But why?"

"All part of the plan. They'll break up," Angela said confidently.

"How do you know all this?" Tim demanded.

"It's a given. Bound to happen sooner or later."

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Angela was pushing a resisting Suze into the cafeteria. "What do you have to be nervous about?" she demanded. "You said yourself it went over well in your morning classes."

"Pony's in there," Suze whispered, not sure why she was doing so. "Why did I talk you into doing this?"

"Because I'm a good person," Angela said. Suze raised her eyes to the heavens to see if a lightning bolt would really come down for the sheer falsity of the statement. But as hard as she had tried to get an answer out of Angela, she wouldn't tell Suze.

"Go," Angela ordered, pushing Suze firmly into the cafeteria.

Suze took a deep breath and stepped forward…

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"Is Miss Thing over herself yet?" Dally groused. Johnny shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't seen her."

"Neither have I," Dally growled. "I'll kill her. The sooner we get outta here the better, and she ain't making it any easier."

"She always sits with Ponyboy," Johnny insisted. "Well, she hasn't been for the past couple of days," Dally pointed out.

"_Hey, Suze!"_ someone shouted. _"Lookin' good!"_

"Hey, Suze's around here somewhere!" Johnny said excitedly. "Where?" Dally demanded, dropping a pudding cup on some Soc's head and whirling around.

Johnny's jaw dropped. "Is that…?" he trailed off, staring. Dally looked where Johnny was looking and he had a similar reaction.

"Whoa," he said in a low voice. "What _happened_ to her?" Johnny groaned.

"I dunno," Dally said appreciatively. "But I hope she keeps it up."

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"Talked to your girlfriend?" Ponyboy's friend Mark questioned. Ponyboy shook his head. "No. Haven't seen her."

"She'll come around," Two-Bit reassured him. "Chicks always do."

Ponyboy opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance. Mark was staring at something, and said out of the corner of his mouth, "Hey, Pony. Ain't that her?"

Ponyboy looked around, and his eyes grew wide. "No way," he said in a hushed voice. "It is," Two-Bit uttered. Then he yelled, "Hey Suze! Lookin' good!"

People—well, mainly boys—were having similar reactions all around the cafeteria as Suze walked past, while others—mainly girlfriends of said boys—glared and panicked at the same time.

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Suze was well aware of the looks she was getting. One boy was drinking milk, and as she walked by, spat it out all over his twin on the other side of the table. Suze laughed to herself. If nothing else, it was a good laugh.

She walked right past Ponyboy and didn't even look at him.

"_Hey, doll,"_ Dally said lazily, appearing as she sat down alone. _"What happened to you?"_ Johnny asked as he appeared seconds later.

Suze was about to answer them when a boy approached her. "Back off," she snapped before he could even open his mouth. He slunk off, looking hurt.

"_You didn't have to be so rough on him," _Johnny scolded. "Whatever," Suze said breezily. "Can we go outside so people don't think I'm talking to myself?" she added put of the corner of her mouth.

She got up and began walking, Dally and Johnny trailing after her.

"_So?"_ Johnny demanded once they were out of earshot of anyone else. _"What about my dad?"_

Suze hesitated, and then began. "You're not going to like this," she warned. Johnny practically shouted, _"I don't care! Just TELL ME!"_

"All right, all right," Suze said, offended. "See, your dad—"

"Suze!" someone shouted. Dally cracked his knuckles threateningly. _"Don't, Dally, it's just Ponyboy,"_ Johnny said.

"Ponyboy?" Suze said, dazed. "Suze! Listen, I—"

"Kinda busy here," Suze whispered urgently, jerking her head sideways at Dally and Johnny.

Ponyboy said hurriedly, "Hi Johnny. Hi Dally. Listen Suze, I have to tell you this."

"Can't it wait?"

"NO!"

Suze took a step back, alarmed. "Okay, okay," she said, trying to pacify him. Ponyboy calmed down and said, "Look, sorry to interrupt and all, but you didn't have to do this for me. I love you just the way you are."

Suze's voice rose she said, "How can you be so sure I did this for _you?"_

"Um…" Ponyboy was at a loss for words. "Now that it matters," Suze added. "Cause I did."

They stared at each other for a second, then broke out laughing. _"Okay, okay,"_ Dally said menacingly. _"You've had your moment. Now TELL US!"_ he roared.

"Okay," Suze said. Ponyboy hung around, curious. "Johnny, your dad isn't really your dad. Your—this is the twisted part—real father is actually my dad's brother, Karl. But he's dead, too. Your dad murdered him. The authorities could never prove it and it went down as a suicide."

"_Why did my…my not-father murder my real dad?" _Johnny asked, wide-eyed.

"Because," Suze sighed. "Your mom was pregnant with my uncle's kid and they were going to get married. But Richard Cade was your mom's ex-boyfriend, and he killed Uncle Karl out of jealousy. So she married him. He wanted to get rid of you, but she refused, and he swore to make both of your lives hell."

Johnny, Dally, and Ponyboy all listened to this with horror. There was shocked silence when Suze had finished.

"Well, now they know, and Johnny's mystery's been solved," Ponyboy said sadly. "So he should be gone now, right?"

Suze shook her head. "They're not going anywhere," she said in a hushed voice. "You know what that means, right?"

Ponyboy nodded his head slowly. "Their mystery ain't fulfilled yet."


	14. What Have I Done?

Chapter Fourteen: What Have I Done?

"I don't understand it," Suze said in shock. "They ought to be gone by now. So what gives?" She glared at Johnny and Dally in turn.

They both started talking at the same time.

"_Now you just hold on a minute…"_

"…_not our fault…"_

"…_don't know why this is happening!"_

"Well, one of you is lying," Suze said suspiciously. "Why else would you still be here?"

"_Suze, you have to believe us!" _Johnny said furiously. _"We want to get outta here too!"_

"But HOW is the question here," Suze reminded him. "You can't go on until your needs are satisfied."

"_Tim owes me twenty bucks," _Dally said suddenly. _"No, wait, never mind. I lifted that from his wallet yesterday."_

"_But we don't need money. We're ghosts,"_ Johnny pointed out logically.

"_We don't eat or drink neither, but that ain't never stopped me before,"_ Dally said with a smirk.

"Would you two focus?" Suze snapped. "We need to find a solution for this if ya'll are ever gonna get back." She stopped. Had she just said "ya'll"? Oklahoma was rubbing off on her.

"_Yeah, but where're we gonna get a solution?"_ Johnny asked.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be standing here, would I?" Suze snarled.

Dally chuckled. _"You can make a girl look pretty sweet," _he said sagely. _"But you can't make her act the part."_

He faded, Johnny fading with him. Suze kicked at the ground viciously, growling frustratedly.

"Come on," Ponyboy said tentatively. "We'd better get back to class."

"Yeah," Suze said absently. What could Johnny and Dally possibly be missing anymore? It just didn't make any sense.

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"So?" Johnny prompted Dally when they arrived in the Curtis dishwasher.

"Heavy spin cycle. Must be a heavy load," Dally commented.

"Dallas!"

"What?"

"Well, it ain't _me._ So it must be you. I got everything sorted out with Pony and my dad. So what gives?"

"Nothin'. Shove off, kid," he growled moodily.

Johnny faded, hurt. He had never seen Dally so bothered before.

Dally sighed. "Look, Johnnycake, I didn't mean to…" Then he realized Johnny was already gone.

He sat alone and glum in the suds, listening to Soda chatter happily with Ponyboy. What had he done? How could he have done it? He had done a lot of things before, but never to hurt any of the gang. He would never have done any such thing to any of them, even Darry, who was a square, or Steve, who he had never liked much anyway.

But he had. And to Soda too. Soda, happy-go-lucky and what-me-worry had been broken for a week over that. He still hadn't gotten over it, the poor guy.

He had to settle this somehow, and alone. He couldn't tell Johnny or Suze; they'd freak. Especially Johnny, who idolized him, the poor kid. He was in this alone.

He had to do something, or he would never find peace.

But what?

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Oh, brother. What did Dallas do now? Find out, but only if you review.


	15. Wake Up, Already!

Chapter Fifteen: Wake Up Already!

Dallas was striding up and down in front of Soda and Pony's bed, giving himself a pep talk.

"You can do this Winston," he growled. "You have to do this. Or you're damned to this forever…well, I guess I'm going to hell anyway. But I gotta do it for the kid. I gotta do it for Johnny. He deserves heaven after his hell on earth." He stopped. "Why in the hell am I talking to myself?"

Soda grunted and rolled over, flinging an arm over Ponyboy, who groaned a little in his sleep. It sounded curiously like "Suze," but it could just have been Dally's imagination.

"Okay," he told himself. "I just gotta…I just gotta wake him up and do it."

He flung himself onto the bed and thumped the blond one's back. "Wake up!" he roared. "I got something to tell ya!"

Soda merely rolled over and shivered a bit, possibly at the touch of a ghost or possibly because Ponyboy was stealing all the blanket.

Dally ground his teeth furiously, frustrated that Soda wasn't responding. "WAKE UP!" he bellowed.

Johnny appeared next to him. "Hey."

Dallas was so surprised he fell off the bed, and Johnny nearly came with him as he broke into peals of laughter. Dally glared daggers at Johnny. "It's my job to scare you senseless!"

"Sorry Dally," Johnny chuckled. "But what're you trying to wake Soda up for?"

"I got something to tell him."

"What?"

"Just _something,"_ Dally replied testily.

"Fine," Johnny said sullenly. "Have fun waking him up yourself," he added, beginning to fade. Dally grabbed Johnny's shirt collar to prevent him from doing so.

"Tell me or I'll slash you. I still got Two-Bit's blade."

"Dally," Johnny began tiredly. "I'm already dead. I can't—"

"You've already told me I can't eat, drink, steal or fight 'cause I'm dead. And whaddya know, I've done all of it! So don't push your luck."

Wisely, Johnny shut his mouth,

"Now wake up Soda for me."

Sighing, Johnny faded for a moment, but was back before Dally could even open his mouth to curse. He was holding something very large and circular.

Dally raised a skeptical eyebrow. "A gong?"

"Got it from Chinatown," Johnny grinned. "Don't worry, I'll put it back."

"I ain't worried about that," Dally said impatiently. "I'm worried that you'll wake up the entire East side!"

"Don't worry. I know how to make it so it only wakes up Soda. But you gotta be the one to ring it."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Dally said, gleefully accepting it from Johnny. "What do I do?"

"You concentrate on Soda and what you have to say—"

Johnny was cut off by a tremendous, ringing crash with reverberations that made the gong, as well as Dally, vibrate.

"W-w-w-w-o-o-o-o-w-w-w!" he exclaimed.

Johnny covered his eyes with a hand. "I can't watch," he groaned. No explosion came. He lifted his hand tentatively.

Ponyboy, and apparently the rest of Tulsa, was still fast asleep. Soda, however, had turned over and his eyes were blearily open, looking around confusedly. Dally leapt in front of him and flapped his arms like a windmill, screaming, "SODA! HEY! _HEY! _ SODAPOP PATRICK CURTIS! I'M TALKING TO YOU! _WHY CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?"_

"I don't think he can hear you," Johnny remarked quietly.

Dally whirled on him, eyes blazing. "Ya think?" he raged.

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Sorry it took so long. Random ending to the chapter, I know. But the sooner you review, the sooner an update.


	16. Sandy's Baby?

Chapter Sixteen: Sandy's Baby?

Soda nudged Ponyboy. "You hear that?" he whispered. Ponyboy grunted and rolled over.

_I'll take that as a no,_ Soda thought. He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.

"Who's there?" he whispered loudly. There didn't seem to be anyone there, but Soda could _feel_ a presence.

"Hello?" he whispered. His head whipped around as a breeze blew by his right ear. He broke into a cold sweat. "Hello?' he repeated. "Who's there?"

He was being ridiculous. There were no such things as ghosts.

Despite himself, he shuddered.

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"Dally, you're doing this all wrong!" Johnny groaned. "Will you just let me do it?"

"And what experience do _you_ have, Mr. Smarty?" Dally demanded.

"I've been haunting Socs and my parents, okay? Randy Adderson hasn't slept for a month!" Johnny argued. "This is one place I know better than you, Dallas."

Dally considered it. "Okay," he said.

Johnny bent over and blew in Soda's right ear. Soda shivered and looked around.

"That's your brilliant plan?" Dally remarked sarcastically.

"That's just how you get started!" Johnny exclaimed defensively. He then clamped down on Soda's neck in an icy grip.

"For God's sake!" Dally growled. "I'm not trying to scare the living daylights out of him, I need to tell him something!"

"So scribble it on the wall or something," Johnny said irritably. "But make it quick, he's going back to sleep."

"Right. Hand me a marker."

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"Morning, Pony, Soda, time to wake u—_What the hell is this?"_

Those were the first words out of Darry's mouth the next morning.

Soda sat up and rubbed his eyes before staring at what Darry was pointing so furiously at. Ponyboy rolled over, sat up, opened his eyes, looked, shut his eyes again, and said firmly, "I had nothing to do with this."

On the wall, scrawled messily in thick black ink, were the words: _"SANDY'S BABY."_

"Who did that?" Soda said in horror.

"I was about to ask you two the same question," Darry said through gritted teeth. "You idiots—you know we can't afford to have that fixed!"

"We didn't do this!" Soda said furiously. "The two of us were sleeping all night long!"

"Then who did it?" Darry raged. "If you two didn't, then who did?"

Soda was at a loss for words. "I don't know," he admitted quietly.

"Well, it must've been one of you two! It can't have been a ghost!" Darry barked ironically, although he didn't know he was being ironic. He closed his eyes for a few moments, seemingly meditating. When he opened them, he said more calmly, "If it was one of you two, you can tell me. Just tell me why, and I won't get mad."

"Darry," Soda said. "It wasn't neither of us. We were sleeping all night!"

Ponyboy, meanwhile, was getting dressed. "I'll catch a ride to school," he said to Soda and Darry, who were still bickering when he left.

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"Suze, I need to talk to you," Ponyboy said urgently to Suze at school. She had mercifully gone back to her old style, though boys sometimes still made wise comments to her.

"I'm listening," she said, shoving her books in her locker. Ponyboy told her the whole story.

"Sandy's baby?" she echoed, eyes wide.

"Yeah," said Ponyboy. "D'you know what it means?"

"No," she sighed. "But I bet Johnny or Dally…did!" she said loudly and pointedly as Two-Bit approached Pony from behind.

Ponyboy frowned. "Did? But I thought you…" he trailed off at the nasty look Suze was giving him. He turned. "Oh. Hi, Two-Bit."

"Hey, kids. Whatcha talking about?"

"Nothing," Suze said hurriedly. "We were just…nothing," she hurried away. She had a strong suspicion that a certain Dallas Winston would know exactly what was going on at the Curtis house.

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Two-Bit nudged Ponyboy suggestively. "So? What were the two of you talking about?"

"Neuropsychological physics," Ponyboy responded. He had no idea if that was even such a thing, but he did know that it was enough to confuse Two-Bit enough that he would walk away, which is what he did, leaving Ponyboy to hope very much that Suze knew what the hell she was doing.


	17. I Can't Believe You Two!

Chapter Seventeen: I Can't Believe You Two!

When Dally appeared in Suze's bedroom, Suze was ready for him. "Hi, Dallas," she said.

Dally whipped around, but relaxed at the sight of Suze. "Oh. It's you."

"And you were expecting maybe the Easter Bunny?" Suze asked bitingly.

Dally frowned at her. "What's got a stick up your—?"

"You," Suze cut him off with a snarl. "You and your stupid pranks. What the hell were you thinking, scrawling on Ponyboy's wall? And 'Sandy's baby' of all things?" She struggled to keep her voice down so her family wouldn't hear.

"Yeah, Sandy's baby," Dally said. "It was a stupid prank. Sorry." He began to fade, but Suze caught him by the arm and stopped him from doing so.

"Why that of all things?" Suze asked slyly. The truth was that she knew. She had known since Ponyboy had told her about his wall, and she was trying to wheedle a confession out Dallas Winston.

Dally glared at her, but met her gaze and his expression said it all. He knew that she knew. And she knew that he knew that she knew.

"When did you figure it out?" Dallas asked quietly.

"When Pony told me what you wrote on the wall. You idiot. There's other ways of letting him know."

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute. How do you know what you know is right?" Dally demanded. "Don't even open your mouth, girl. I know what you're thinking and it ain't like that."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Suze shot back futilely. Dally, as much as she hated to admit it, was right.

"You're thinking that _I_ was the stupid…jerk that got Sandy pregnant, am I right?"

Suze opened her mouth to say, "no," but the lie withered on the tip of her tongue. All she could do was, ashamedly, nod her head yes.

"That's what I thought. And you're wrong. Jesus, what do you think of me?" Dally sounded livid.

Suze dared to look him in the eye. "Well, all the clues were pointing to that. What else was I supposed to think, dolt? Even Johnny thought so!"

Immediately Suze wished she hadn't said anything. Dally's jaw dropped and he looked as thought he had been socked in the stomach. "J-Johnny thought so too?"

"Sorry, Dally," the translucent tan boy apologized, fading in. Dally rounded on him, and then back on Suze, but seemed unable to say anything.

"I can't believe you would think that!" he finally exploded. "What, every JD's immediately a raping, cheating sonofa—?"

"Dally, it's not like that!" Johnny broke in.

"I didn't want to believe it," Suze added. "Johnny _refused_ to believe it. We argued for a good half hour, but he wasn't changing his mind. He knew you couldn't have done it. _Please,_ Dally, be reasonable—"

"I'm sick and tired of reasonable!" Dally roared. "You two can go screw yourselves. I'm outta here."

He faded. Suze didn't try to stop him.

Johnny regarded Suze through large, luminescent eyes. "He's real hurt, Suze. I'll go after him."

"Be careful," Suze said for some reason. Johnny nodded and faded.

Suze collapsed on her bed, exhausted, and put her hands over her face. Now, once Johnny placated Dally enough, Suze would have to get to the bottom of this and send them to the afterlife for good.

_Mediating is the most difficult and least rewarding job on the planet, no contest,_ Suze thought.

She jumped as the phone rang. She dove for it and picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Suze?" someone said on the other line. The voice sounded vaguely familiar…

"Ponyboy?" Suze's heart was in her throat.

"No. Actually, it's Sodapop."

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Uh oh. Why's he calling? And what's the real mystery behind Dally?


	18. Soda's Lost His Mind

Chapter Eighteen: Soda's Lost His Mind

Blinded by fury, Dally couldn't seem to stop himself. He just kept running, and running, and running, until he ran out of energy.

He had to blow off some steam somehow.

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Suze nearly swallowed her tongue. "S-Sodapop?" she stammered.

"Yes," he replied. He sounded awkward. "Is, uh. Is Ponyboy there?" he asked worriedly.

"No," Suze said slowly. "Why? Is he not there?"

"No!" Soda blurted, nearly crying now. "Darry and Two-Bit and Steve all went out to find him. You were our last chance. We have no idea where he is! The last time he ran off…" he choked on his own words, but Suze knew what he meant. The last time Ponyboy had run off, Johnny and Dally had ended up dead.

"Okay. Calm down. We'll find him," Suze attempted to calm him, but Soda was inconsolable.

"What if he dies out there? What if he never comes back? You're his girl, you oughta know if we don't! Is he okay? What do you think he's doing?"

Clearly Soda was losing his mind.

Someone knocked at the front door. Suze gently lay down the phone and ran to answer the door. He eyes grew wide as they spotted the person standing sheepishly in her doorway.

"Ponyboy!" she fairly screamed. "Do you have any idea how worried your brothers are? I've got a hysterical Soda on the phone now!"

Without waiting for an answer, Suze ran back to the phone and held it to her ear. Ponyboy, who had followed her, leaned in to listen. He smelled like rainwater and grass and smoke. Suze wondered where he had been. Soda was still rambling:

"He could be dead by now! He could—"

"Soda?" Suze said.

"—be mangled, be shot, he could—"

"Soda?"

"He could be in jail, he could—"

"SODA!"

"Whaaaat?" Soda said, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"He just walked in the door."

"Hi, Soda," Ponyboy said sheepishly into the receiver. "I'm okay, I just…I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry."

Suze handed him the phone and let him talk to Soda. She left the room to give them privacy, and a few minutes later, Ponyboy joined her where she was staring out the window, her forehead against the cool glass.

"I guess I'll go home now," he said quietly.

"Where did you go? Soda was freaking out," Suze replied.

"I know," Ponyboy said. "I guess I forgot to tell him I was going out…I went to the cemetery. To visit everybody…mom, dad, Johnny, Dally." He ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Guess I forgot to tell them. Darry's right. I never use my head."

"Well, they know where you are now," Suze said.

"Did you ever find out about Dally?" Ponyboy asked. "You know, what he wrote on the wall?"

"Not exactly," Suze sighed. She told Ponyboy what had happened.

"Wow. Tough luck, Suze," he said sympathetically. "Hope everything's okay."

"Thanks. I just don't know what I'm gonna do."

"It'll be okay," Ponyboy said.

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He didn't really know what he was doing. He didn't know if it would work. But he did it anyway.

Darry was right. He never did use his head.

Ponyboy tentatively put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Wha—?" she started to say, but Ponyboy shut her up with a forefinger on her lips.

His heart was beating out of his chest as he moved closer. _What am I supposed to do now?_ he panicked. _Kiss her you dolt! Oh yeah…_

He tilted her chin upwards and did so, gently, tenderly. It wasn't like anything he had ever experienced.

_Now I know why Soda's so hooked up on girls,_ he thought.

It might have been a second, or two, or ten years when they finally broke apart. Ponyboy and Suze were both speechless.

"Wow," Suze finally whispered. That was all it took. They broke into breathless laughter.

"I'm surprised Soda hasn't called back by now," Ponyboy chuckled.

"I'm surprised my mom hasn't gotten suspicious by now," Suze replied.

"SUSANNAH!"

"Damn, spoke too soon," Suze hissed. "C'mon!"

They scrambled to the front door. Ponyboy fumbled it open and dove out. Suze slammed it shut and leaned against it innocently just as her sleepy mother stumbled down the stairs and, seeing Suze there, glared at her.

"Who did I hear down here just now?"

Suze fumbled for an excuse. "I, uh, thought I heard a ghost," she lied.

Her mother stared at her suspiciously for a moment, and then staggered back up the stairs, drunk on drowsiness.

Suze exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. _That was a close one,_ she thought.

What a night. Dally vanishes in a rage, Johnny goes after him, Ponyboy goes missing, shows up and kisses her…for the second time ever…

No. This wasn't about her. She had to focus on getting this mystery solved. But she couldn't get her mind off Ponyboy…

Suze went to bed confused, but very happy.

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"Curly, don't you dare touch my beer."

"Tim, I swear, I won't touch it!"

"That's what you said last time."

"And last time you broke my arm about. Almost. Anyway I ain't that stupid."

"I hope not, anyway."

"Look, I'm going all the way over here. Twenty feet away. I can't get even if I did want it!"

"You had better not."

"I can't, Tim."

"Good."

"So how many people did you jump today, Tim?"

"Five. And—what the—?"

"Tim, I swear I didn't do it! How could have I? You were looking right at me the whole time! Tim? What are you doing? Tim? TIM! Stay away from me! _TIM!"_

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Watching unseen and unheard, Dally roared with laughter. He felt much better now.

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Review, please?


	19. Unraveled Secrets

Chapter Nineteen: Unraveled Secrets

"Dally?" Johnny appeared at Tim and Curly Shepard's house. Tim was lighting a cigarette, Curly was seething with a lump of ice on his face, and there was beer spilled everywhere.

The damage had already been done and Dally was nowhere to be found. Johnny sighed in frustration. _If I were Dally, where would I go?_ He thought to himself. _Hmmm…_

"I knew I'd find you here," Johnny announced triumphantly upon his arrival in the Curtis' dishwasher. "Dally, what's up? I haven't ever seen you this down!"

Dallas Winston, toughest hood in all of Tulsa, was moping in a pool of suds. "Johnny," he wailed. "What am I gonna do?"

"Tell Suze. Then she can tell Soda."

"What can she tell him? He'd never believe her."

"Why not?" Johnny said logically. "Whoever got Sandy knocked up, Suze can tell Soda who it was and say that he told her and she thought it was only right that she told him—"

"I'm telling you, man, it ain't possible. There ain't no way he'd buy it. You know Soda, he's too loyal to everybody, the stupid—" Dally proceeded to curse Soda out with a sort of miserable affection.

"He's gotta know, Dally, or we'll never get out of this place! You gotta tell Suze—"

Furiously, Dally rounded on Johnny. "Tell her what? To tell Soda that his best friend got completely drunk and was outta his mind that night at Buck's when he and Sandy went upstairs, and I saw them and I didn't stop them? Now do you know why I couldn't tell him, or say anything, even to you or Suze? Do you have any damn idea how it feels to know I could have stopped it?"

Johnny's mouth had dropped open and his eyes had bugged out. He looked like a stunned fish. When he regained his voice, all he could do was blubber. "Dally…I don't…I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"Shut up, kid," Dally growled. "How could you know? But Soda can't find out. He still loves Sandy."

"He's gotten over her."

"So you want to get him hurt all over again? Great pal you are, Johnny," Dally said. And then, as if it had just occurred to him, he snapped, "And don't you go telling Suze none of this neither, do you hear—damn, where'd the kid go? JOHNNY! I'M GONNA KILL YA!"

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"_Suze,"_ Johnny said, appearing right in front of her. She gasped and stopped in her tracks just before she walked through him.

"What?" she demanded. Then, seeing his panicked expression, she asked, concerned, "What happened?"

"_It's Dally,"_ Johnny said in a rush. Suze could barely make out the words, he was talking so fast. _"He didn't get Sandy pregnant, but he knows who did. He saw them at Buck's, and the guy was drunk outta his mind and he was taking Sandy upstairs and Sandy wasn't resisting, and Dally says he coulda stopped them but he didn't and that's why he doesn't wanna tell—"_

"_Whatever he said, it's all a lie!"_ Dally roared, fading in and cutting Johnny off.

"_She's got to know, Dally, it's her job!"_

"_Well, we can't trust her not to tell Soda!"_

"_That's why I'm telling her, nitwit!"_

"_Nitwit? Is that the best you can come up with?"_

"GUYS!" Suze barked. "Johnny already told me most of it. You just have to tell me who it was."

"_You can't let Soda know that!"_ Dally shouted, looking thoroughly panicked. _"He'll never forgive the guy, if he decides to believe it!"_

"_He has to know who it was!"_ Johnny interrupted. _"Suze, it was Steve!"_

Dead silence. Dally took a deep, shuddering breath to calm himself before saying in a strangled voice, _"Johnny Cade, you are a dead man. Dead dead man, I mean."_

But Suze wasn't paying attention to them anymore. The gears were turning in her head. She nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "I've got an idea. Soda can find out, but he doesn't have to know it was Steve."

"_What if he has to know it was Steve for us to be free?"_ Johnny demanded.

"Okay, so then he will find out," Suze said agreeably.

"_No!"_ Dally cut in. _"He can't find out! It'd kill him!"_

"So we'll alter the facts a little bit," Suze said. "We can do that, just as long as we're fudging them and not changing them."

"_And how exactly do you propose to let him know?"_ Dally demanded haughtily.

Suze told them. They liked the idea. They liked the idea very much.

"So it's settled then," Suze said, very much pleased with herself. "Plan goes into operation tomorrow."

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"Did you find out?" Ponyboy asked Suze quietly in class the next day.

"Yeah," Suze whispered back. "Don't worry. I've got it covered."

"So what is it?" Ponyboy pressed.

"You'll find out soon enough," Suze smirked. "Believe me, you will."

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Sorry so short. Either next chapter or the one after will be the last one.


	20. Yin and Yang

Chapter Twenty: Yin and Yang

"_She makes her S a little more curly…"_

"_Does she spell her name with an I or a Y?"_

"I know how to spell 'Sandy,' guys."

"_How the hell do I know if she spells it with an I or a Y?"_

"_Well, you're the one who scribbled her name on Pony's wall with that marker…"_

"There. It's done."

"_Yuck. That's the pinkest thing I've ever seen. It's revolting."_

"I know. Isn't it great?"

"_No."_

"Well, maybe Soda'll buy it."

"_I hope so. Hey, are you sure it's not against the rules to fudge facts?"_

"I've done it before. Nothing bad has happened yet."

"_So mail it already."_

"_Yeah, get to."_

"I'm getting, I'm getting."

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"Mail call!" Darry hollered, stepping inside. "Bill…bill…junk mail, more bills, no surprise," he muttered to himself as he flipped through it. "Hey, Soda!" he shouted. "There's one here for you!"

Soda darted into the kitchen where Darry was standing and took the letter Darry handed him. He stared at it. It was pink, lacy, and scented. And that was just the envelope.

"Are you sure this one's for me?" he said curiously, holding the letter between his thumb and forefinger as though it were a dirty rag.

"It's got your name on it, buddy," Darry said. Soda stared at it. Indeed it did.

_Sodapop Curtis,_ it read. Soda squinted at it closely. "Hey…" he said. "That looks like Sandy's writing!"

Ponyboy, who had just entered the room, stopped dead in his tracks. It broke his heart to hear his brother getting so excited.

"Oh, boy, Sandy! D'you think she's back in Tulsa? Is the baby really mine after all?"

"Calm down, Soda," Darry advised. "I wouldn't even open it if I was you."

"Not open it? Are you crazy! I've gotta open it!" He whirled around and spotted Ponyboy. "Pony!" he exclaimed gleefully. "Didja hear the good news? Sandy wrote me back!"

"Don't get your hopes up, Soda," Ponyboy warned as dread filled him. He knew it wasn't Sandy. What the hell did Suze think she was up to, hurting his brother like that? He would give her a piece of his mind…

Soda was shredding the envelope in his effort to get to the letter. He finally got it in his hands and began reading eagerly.

As his eyes moved slowly down the page, they narrowed. Finally, Soda finished reading. He crumpled the letter in his shaking hands, threw it on the floor and stomped on it. "Who needs her?" he said in a low voice. Anger blazed in his eyes. "I hate her. I'll never forgive her. I don't need her. I got over her once, I can do it again." He stormed out of the room.

"What does it say?" Darry asked as Ponyboy bent to pick up the crumpled pink paper. He smoothed it out best he could and began reading aloud:

_Dear Sodapop, _

_I know it has been a long time, but I owe you the truth. I'm so sorry to be dredging up things that should be in the past, but I have to let it out. It's true my daughter Ann Marie isn't yours. But it wasn't the father's fault either. You see, it happened that night we fought. I can't even remember what we fought about, it was that trivial, which makes what happened seem like I'm an easy lay. But Soda, you know that's not true. That night, I was at Buck's without you. He was having a wild party, and a lot of people were drunk. I was just getting tipsy, but S. (I can't write his name) was out of his mind with the booze. He asked me if I wanted to go upstairs. I should have said no, but I was angry with you and looking for revenge. So I agreed. A few months later, I had to leave for Florida. I don't expect you to write me back (I haven't even left a return address, so I don't see how you could) or forgive me, or to even understand what I was thinking that night. I don't understand it myself. I just thought you had the right to know. _

_Sincerely, _

_Sandy._

"My god," Darry said in a hushed voice. "Poor Soda. I wonder if he's…hey! Just where do you think you're going?"

Ponyboy ignored Darry and made sure to slam the door on his way out.

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"_How will we know if he got it or not?" _Dally demanded impatiently.

"He was supposed to get it by today," Suze replied, staring out the window.

"_Uh oh,"_ Johnny said quietly. _"I think he got it. And I think Ponyboy read it, too."_

"_Why do you say that?"_ Dally asked.

"Because he's coming over here now, and he's madder than hell," Suze said, leaping up and dashing to the door to lock it, but she got there a second too late. Ponyboy barged in, smoldering.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he roared at a cowering Suze. "What's your problem, doing that to Soda? He didn't have to know!"

"He doesn't know," Suze tried to explain, but Ponyboy was having none of it.

"Whaddya mean he doesn't know? He knows everything!"

"No he doesn't!" Suze had recovered from the initial shock and was shouting back now. "I only did it to set Johnny and Dally free, and I screwed up the facts as much as I could with it still being the truth!"

Ponyboy stopped, breathless. "W-what?" he stammered.

"Wonder who 'S' is? It's Steve. Steve Randle. Soda's best friend. We told him who it was without really telling him. Oh, and Sandy wasn't tipsy. She didn't even have a fight with Soda. She wanted to. And that was the only plausible way we could let him know that he would believe!"

Ponyboy was reeling from all this information. But he bounced back quickly, and countered with, "Well, you still broke his heart."

"Not as badly as I would have. And he's over her, or he will be. He's only sixteen, Pony. There'll be other girls," Suze snarled.

"Okay, okay," Ponyboy said gently, putting his hands on her shoulders to either restrain her or relax her, or both. "Just, calm down, Suze. Don't bite my head off. I got it, okay? Soda'll be fine."

"Right," Suze said, taking deep breaths. "It's all over now. For both Dally and Johnny."

"Are they still here?" Ponyboy asked. Suze looked around and saw them. They were fading fast, waving and grinning at Ponyboy and Suze.

Suze smiled. Of all the ghosts she had set free, it had never been as rewarding as this before.

"They're fading fast," she said softly.

And they were. They were fading, for the last time, into their afterlife. Their souls would spend eternity in nirvana.

"Will they have each other there?" Ponyboy asked. His hand found Suze's. "They can't stand it without each other for too long."

"I have a feeling they will," Suze said, grinning, but for a different reason this time.

Johnny and Dally were like opposites. Johnny was timid, sweet, innocent and small. Dally was all over the place, loud and anything but innocent and small. They reminded Suze of yin and yang: polar opposites, but unable to stand alone. Only together could they remain in harmony.

The end.

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Epilogue coming up.


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue: Nothing Gold Can Stay

It had been two months. Ponyboy still missed Johnny and Dally, but not so much as before. It was like their death was a band-aid over a scab, and he had gotten much more used to the band-aid.

He and Suze were still going together, not exactly steady, but not exactly irregular either. They fought often, mostly over Johnny and Dally when Ponyboy was missing them the most and needed someone to take it out on.

Soda had gotten over Sandy once, and he did it again. His newfound anger at her made it easier this time around. He would never truly forget her, Ponyboy knew, but it was a start.

Suze, meanwhile, had no ghosts to bother her any longer, at least for now. She was happy, even when she was fighting with Ponyboy, and her life seemed to be at last perfect.

But this was Suze we're talking about. Something, she knew, just had to come along and screw it all up.

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Johnny and Dally's souls were free. They, like so many others, joined the never-ending cycle of reincarnation.

"Whatever happened to nirvana and being free forever?" Dally groused. "And why is this darn line so darn long?"

"Since when do you say 'darn'?" Johnny laughed.

"Believe me, Johnnycake, if I could swear, I would," Dally said miserably. "But whenever I try to it comes out clean language!"

"Well, we're just going to have to wait our turn."

"Will we be together?" Dally wanted to know.

"Well, according to this receipt we got at the Pearly Gates," Johnny said, glancing it over, "we're gonna come back as twin boys. We won't remember anything about our past lives or anything as we grow up, but we might have some lagging memory in our very early years."

"What were we before we were Johnny and Dally?" Dally wanted to know.

"You're never gonna believe this," Johnny chuckled.

"Try me," Dally said, leaning over to look over Johnny's shoulder. "No way! We were squirrels?"

"Come on, Dally, it's our turn!"

"Wait, what did you say we were going to turn up as?"

"Twins. According to this, our souls will always cross paths within our lifetimes."

"Tuff! See you, then, Johnnycake!"

"Okay, Dally."

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Someone knocked on the Curtis door. "It's open!" Ponyboy hollered even as he ran to get it. Only one person ever bothered to knock.

"Hey, Suze," he greeted cheerfully. His grin vanished at the sight of her face. "What's going on?"

"We're moving," Suze said. A cab was already pulling up to her house, and her family loading everything in the back.

Ponyboy blinked at her. "I'm sorry, did you just say—?"

"Moving," she confirmed grimly. "To Philadelphia."

"WHAT?" Ponyboy screamed, making her jump. "But you just got here!"

"I know," Suze sighed. "But mom doesn't want Charlie growing up in a bad neighborhood, and Ryan just closed a deal on a place in Philly."

Ponyboy's throat closed. She was calling it Philly, like she lived there already. "C-can I write you?" he stammered.

"I wrote down my address," Suze said, handing him a sheet of torn notebook paper. "I know your address. I'll write you, too, and call when I can."

"You'd better," Ponyboy threatened, but it came out distraught. Suze smiled. Ponyboy was shocked to see the tears in her eyes.

"It's only a couple of years, right?" she said. "I'll be back here, you just wait and watch."

"Or I'll be there," Ponyboy said. They stood there awkwardly, with Suze's mother screaming for her in the background.

Impulsively, Suze threw her arms around him briefly. "I'll never forget you," Ponyboy whispered in her ear.

"I can't forget you," she whispered back. "You're gold, Ponyboy. Stay that way."

"SUSANNAH!" her mother screamed. "Let's GO!"

Reluctantly, Suze broke away from Ponyboy and walked to the cab. She turned and looked at him one last time before she got in the cab and it sped away.

"Tough break, Ponyboy," Soda said from behind him.

Ponyboy shook his head. "It ain't over," he insisted.

"Okay," Soda said, and left him standing there.

Ponyboy didn't know how long he stood there. Long enough for the sun to set. As it got dark, he turned to go inside, and one last thought popped into his head:

_Nothing gold can stay._

Suze had been gold. And so of course she couldn't stay.

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End file.
